A total disregard to his life and continuous counter-fire to save his colleagues despite 'mutilated' legs during a Naxal ambush in Bihar has made CoBRA commando B N Choudhary the lone recipient of the 'Kirti Chakra' amongst paramilitary forces this Republic day.
This is a rare occasion when a paramilitary personnel has been awarded this military medal which is usually given to the men and women of the armed forces.
The gallant action of the young commando of CRPF's elite guerrilla battalion in the forests of Chakrabandha in Bihar in September 2012 had not only saved the lives of the entire squad but also ensured that Maoists were not able to snatch the weapons of the CRPF personnel.
Bhrigu Nandan Choudhary, his citation said, had received bullet injuries on his legs but that did not deter him from "crawling under excruciating pain" and helping his fellow trooper Daleep Singh change the magazine of his weapon which had slipped out of his hands because of the impact of a blast.
The dare devil constable of the country's lead anti-Naxal operations force shares the second highest peacetime gallantry medal posthumously with D Castelino, the IAF pilot who flew the ill-fated Mi-17 sortie to Kedarnath during the last year's rain tragedy in Uttarakhand.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has bagged the lions share of 15 bravery medals amongst police and paramilitary forces, out of which, seven troopers have been awarded posthumously for their daredevilry in anti-Naxal operations and insurgency offensives.
