54 officers get service medals

New Delhi: Delhi’s Encounter specialist Sanjeev Kumar Yadav and his team of Delhi police officers involved in the encounter of gangster Neetu Dab-hodia in 2013, are among the 24 police personnel who have been conferred police medals for their exemplary service on Independence Day.

Five police officers from the Special Cell — Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav and his team comprising ACPs Lalit Mohan Negi, Hridaya Bhushan, Rame-sh Chander Lamba and Sub-Inspector Sukbir Sin-gh have been awarded police medals for their gallantry.

They formed the team that risked its life and killed gangster Dabhodia in an encounter in 2013. Two of Dabodia’s aides were also killed in the encounter that took place near a hotel in Vasant Kunj area of South Delhi.

DCP Yadav even supervised the encounter of Kranti gang wherein four wanted criminals, including the kingpin of their gang, were killed, which took place in June this year.

Mr Yadav has been involved in investigating a number of high-profile cases like Nirbhaya gangrape, Jigisha Ghosh mu-rder case, Sunanda Push-kar death, Ponty Chad-ha’s murder case etc.

Total 30 CBI officials, including D. Damodaran, who is the investigating officer of the PNB scam allegedly involving Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, have been honoured with this year’s President’s Police Medal for distingu-ished service and Police Medal for meritorious service on the occasion of Independence Day.

“President’s Police Med-als for Distinguished Ser-vice have been awarded to six officers while Police Medals for Meritorious Service have been awarded to 24 other officers,” said CBI Spokesperson. The winners of Preside-nt’s Police Medals for Dis-tinguished Service inclu-de superintendents of police Nagendra Prasad, K.M. Varkey, Additional SP Santosh Kumar.