SSP Shoket Hussain Shah Gets President’s Medal; 52 J&K Police Personnel Honoured

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NEWS AGENCY KASHMIR NEWS TRUST #KNT

Srinagar, Aug 14, KNT: Senior Superintendent of Police Shoket Hussain Shah has been awarded the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, while 52 Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel have been selected for police service medals on the occasion of Independence Day 2026.

According to the official force-wise list, the J&K Police tally comprises 38 Gallantry Medals, one President’s Medal for Distinguished Service and 13 Medals for Meritorious Service.

Shoket Hussain Shah, Senior Superintendent of Police, is the only J&K Police officer to receive the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service this year. His name appears at serial number 44 in the official list of PSM awardees.

The Gallantry Medal category accounts for the largest share of the J&K Police honours, with 38 personnel receiving the award. The recipients include officers and personnel from different levels of the force, including Deputy Inspectors General, Senior Superintendents of Police, Superintendents of Police, Deputy Superintendents of Police, Inspectors, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables, SgCTs and Constables.

The Gallantry list also includes repeated recognition for some personnel. Deputy Superintendent of Police Sarfaraz Bashir has received the 2nd Bar to the Gallantry Medal, while Head Constable Rayeesh Ahmad Reshi, SgCT Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan and Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohinder Singh have been awarded the 1st Bar to the Gallantry Medal.

Among the senior officers receiving Gallantry Medals are Deputy Inspector General Shiv Kumar, IPS, Senior Superintendent of Police Shobhit D. Saksena, IPS, Superintendent of Police Nasir Ahmad, Superintendent of Police Divya D, IPS, Senior Superintendent of Police Mushtaq Ahmad and Deputy Inspector General Pande Rajiv Omprakash, IPS.

Thirteen J&K Police personnel as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust have also been awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service. The list includes Superintendents of Police Sandeep Kumar and Amit Gupta, Deputy Superintendents of Police Rajesh Sharma, Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, Kuljeet Singh and Sharat Chander Singh, along with Inspectors Shamim Ahmed, Vikram Singh and Mumin Ahmad Rather, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Bodh Raj and Mushtaq Ahmed, Sub-Inspector Manzoor Ahmad Gada and Constable Ashraf Gull.

The 52 police awardees therefore represent three different levels of recognition, with gallantry honours accounting for 38 awards, followed by 13 for meritorious service and one for distinguished service.

A separate award has gone to Vinod Kumar Sharma, Divisional Warden, Jammu & Kashmir, who has received a Medal for Meritorious Service under the Home Guard and Civil Defence category. He is not included in the 52-member J&K Police tally.

Thus, while 53 awards are associated with J&K if the Home Guard and Civil Defence awardee is also counted, the official number of J&K Police personnel honoured is 52.

The Independence Day honours recognize service across the police force, ranging from senior command officers to personnel serving at the frontline. [KNT]