Jammu: As the nation prepares to celebrate its 80th Independence Day, Jammu and Kashmir Police has secured a significant share of the national police medal honours, with 52 J&K Police personnel selected for Gallantry and Service Medals for 2026.
The honours include 38 Medal for Gallantry (GM), 13 Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) and one President’s Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM). Separately, one personnel of the J&K Home Guard and Civil Defence has been selected for the MSM, taking the total number of awardees from Jammu and Kashmir to 53 across the police and Home Guard/Civil Defence categories.
The most distinguished recognition for J&K Police has gone to Senior Superintendent of Police Shoket Hussain Shah, who has been awarded the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service. He is the sole J&K Police recipient of the PSM in the Independence Day 2026 honours.
The national honours announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) comprise 1,057 personnel from Police, Fire, Home Guard & Civil Defence and Correctional Services. Of these, 301 are Medal for Gallantry, 92 President’s Medal for Distinguished Service and 664 Medal for Meritorious Service. Among the 301 gallantry awards, 197 personnel are from Left Wing Extremism-affected areas, 51 from Jammu and Kashmir, 12 from the North-East and 41 from other regions.
The J&K Gallantry Medal list includes personnel from almost every operational rank, from senior officers to constables.
Among the notable awardees are DIG Shiv Kumar, IPS; SSP Shobhit D. Saksena, IPS; SP Nasir Ahmad; SP Divya D, IPS; DIG Pande Rajiv Omprakash, IPS; and SSP Mushtaq Ahmad.
DySP Sarfaraz Bashir has been awarded the second bar to the Medal for Gallantry, while Head Constable Rayeesh Ahmad Reshi, SgCT Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan and ASI Mohinder Singh have received the first bar to the Medal for Gallantry.
The remaining GM recipients include Waseem Mohi-Ud-Din Lone, Manzoor Ahmad, Mudasir Ahmad, Ashak Hussain P., Kishore Kumar, Javid Iqbal Jan, Sheeraz Ahmad, Surinder Paul, Ishtiyaq Ahmad Reshi, Tanveer Hussain Lone, Mudasir Ahmad Shah, Kalu Din, Adit Kumar Nad, Mohd Usman, Shabir Ahmad Malik, Manzoor Ahmad Ganie, Khurshid Ahmed Wani, Mushtaq Ahmad Shah, Ab. Rashid Mir, Mohamad Shafi Banday, Abdul Rashid, Zahoor Ahmad, Zahoor Ahmad, Dheeraj Kumar, Shakir Hassan, Vikram Nag, Mushtaq Ahmad Khan and Tariq Ahmad.
Thirteen J&K Police personnel have been selected for the Medal for Meritorious Service, recognising valuable service, resourcefulness and devotion to duty.
The awardees are SP Sandeep Kumar, SP Amit Gupta, DySP Rajesh Sharma, DySP Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, DySP Kuljeet Singh, DySP Sharat Chander Singh, Inspector Shamim Ahmed, Inspector Vikram Singh, ASI Bodh Raj, Inspector Mumin Ahmad Rather, ASI Mushtaq Ahmed, SI Manzoor Ahmad Gada and Constable Ashraf Gull.
Separately, Vinod Kumar Sharma, Divisional Warden, J&K Home Guard and Civil Defence, has been selected for the MSM, according to reports based on the official honours list.
The Independence Day police medals recognise personnel for acts of gallantry, including bravery in situations involving risk to life and property, prevention of crime and apprehension of criminals, while the service medals acknowledge distinguished or meritorious contribution and devotion to duty.
For Jammu and Kashmir, where police and security personnel continue to operate in challenging security environments, the 2026 honours represent recognition of both operational courage and sustained professional service.
The latest announcement places 52 J&K Police personnel among the Independence Day 2026 police medal awardees, with SSP Shoket Hussain Shah’s President’s Medal standing as the highest individual service distinction for the J&K Police in this year’s list.
Sarah Rizvi, Rayees Bhat among sixawarded J&K Police Medals
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has awarded the Jammu and Kashmir Police Medal for Meritorious Service to six police officers on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day.
The awardees include Inspector General of Police Sarah Rizvi, Deputy Inspector General Rayees Mohammad Bhat and Senior Superintendent of Police Manjit Kour, in recognition of their meritorious service and contribution to the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The medals were presented as part of the Independence Day honours.
