President Pranab Mukherjee today awarded 'Shaurya Chakra', the third highest peacetime gallantry award, posthumously, to slain CRPF officer H K Jha for valiantly leading and laying down his life while taking on armed Naxals in Bihar's Jamui district in 2014.
Jha's wife Binu received the medal from Mukherjee at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
The medal was awarded on India's 69th Independence day last year, which coincided with what would have been the late officer's 46th birthday.
Also, last year, Jha was the only paramilitary officer to get a military bravery medal.
Jha, an officer of the country's largest paramilitary force, led an anti-Naxal operation on July 3, 2014 in Jamui district of Bihar which led to the arrest of the wife of a hardcore Maoist leader Sidhu Koda and subsequently of two other ultras.
Born on August 15, 1969, Jha rose through the ranks in the force within a short span of time by the sheer virtue of his daredevil exploits and was the Second-in-Command of the 7th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which is deployed in the Left Wing Extremism-hit areas of the state.
While laying siege upon a Maoist hideout in Jamui's Lakhari village, the slain officer laid out his strike team in an strategic manner and began the assault but was hit by enemy fire and the bullet pierced through his right eye and exited from the back.
Jha collapsed on the spot but not before giving a tactical advantage to his team and draining out the bullets and ammunition of the Naxals.
"Jha was conferred with this rare honour for making supreme sacrifice while displaying exceptional leadership and raw courage in the face of grave adversity during the said operation," his citation read.
The officer, who hails from Jharkhand capital Ranchi, volunteered to be posted in the anti-Naxal operations grid after he had various stints in Jammu and Kashmir and insurgency-hit areas of North East.
Jha is survived by his wife and two young children.
CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad was present during the investiture ceremony held at the hands of the President, the supreme commander of armed forces.
