President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday awarded Shaurya Chakra to 16-year-old Irfan Ramzan Sheikh for fighting militants who attacked his residence in Shopian district of J&K.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday awarded Shaurya Chakra to 16-year-old Irfan Ramzan Sheikh, a young Kashmiri who took on three armed terrorists to fend off an attack on his family.
Sheikh was a 14-year-old boy when he fought terrorists and forced them to flee when they attacked his residence in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir two years ago.
"He exhibited courage and maturity and fought off militants, safeguarding the life of his father and other family members in Jammu & Kashmir," a tweet by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
Shaurya Chakra is usually awarded to armed forces and para-military personnel for "gallantry otherwise in the face of the enemy". Although Shaurya Chakra may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, it is very rare that a military honour is presented to someone who is not part of any security agency or armed forces.
It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra.
Who is Irfan Ramzan Sheikh
Currently, studying in Class X, Irfan is a resident of Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. His father Mohammad Ramzan is an ex-sarpanch with affiliations to the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Sheikh aspires to become an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and serve the country.
Indomitable courage
During the intervening night of October 16-17 of 2017, terrorists cordoned off the house of Sheikh. When Irfan, the eldest son of Mohammad Ramzan, opened the door, he found three terrorists in the verandah of the house armed with rifles and grenades.
"Sensing that the militants could harm his family, he exhibited highest degree of courage and faced the militants for sometime so as to avoid their entry inside the house. In meantime, his father came out and the militants pounced on him, resulting in scuffle," the citation for the award read.
The 14-year-old boy did not think for a moment for his own safety and pounced upon the terrorists for safeguarding the life of his father and other family members.
The terrorists also resorted to indiscriminate firing, resulting in severe injury to Sheikh's father. He later succumbed.
However, Sheikh did not lose courage and continued to engage in scuffle with one of the terrorists, who resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in severe injuries to terrorists as well.
On seeing one of their associates injured, the terrorists tried to flee. However, Sheikh chased them and they left the body of their fellow terrorist behind.
"Irfan Ramzan Sheikh exhibited the extraordinary show of bravery and maturity in such a small age," the citation read.
(With PTI inputs)
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 "President Kovind presents Shaurya Chakra to Irfan Ramzan Sheikh")
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