President Droupadi Murmu conferred gallantry awards on personnel of the armed forces and security agencies in recognition of their exceptional courage and dedication to duty. The awards were presented during the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 (Phase-I) held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Among the awardees was Suraj Prashar, who received the prestigious Shaurya Chakra for his bravery during Operation Chuntawadi in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district. The operation was carried out jointly by security forces against heavily armed terrorists hiding in the area.
The ceremony was attended by Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and several senior military and government officials.
According to official details, Lieutenant Commander Suraj Prashar played a crucial role during a joint cordon and search operation conducted in Chuntawadi village on November 5 and 6, 2024. When terrorists opened fire on security personnel, he quickly assessed the situation, moved to a strategic position and coordinated the response while keeping other teams informed in real time.
His actions helped security forces successfully eliminate a high-value foreign terrorist and prevent an attempt to break the security cordon. Despite the risks involved, he continued to monitor the operation throughout the night and later led the recovery of weapons, ammunition and other war-like stores from the area.
Officials said his courage, leadership and commitment to duty went beyond the normal call of service and played a major role in the success of the operation. Along with Suraj Prashar, Assistant Commandant Mohd Shafiq, Lieutenant Commander Ram Goyal and Constable Saddam Hussain were also awarded the Shaurya Chakra for their bravery during the mission.
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