Army committee retains award given to late Major Akshay

New Delhi (India), Mar 30 (ANI) A committee formed by the Army to re-examine the operation conducted by late Major Akshay Girish has decided that the officer should be awarded Mention in Despatches only which was given to him originally after his action in Nagrota terror attack in November 2016.
The family of the late officer has been demanding a higher gallantry award than ‘Mention in Despatches’ and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had formed a committee earlier this year to examine the family request under a Major General-rank officer.
“Based on the request of the parents of late Major Akshay Girish Kumar to Defence Minister, a fresh examination of the operation conducted by the martyr has been carried out. The outcome of the examination has been perused by the parents of late Major Akshay Girish Kumar,” the Indian Army tweeted.
Sources in Army said the committee has taken a decision to retain the award given to him earlier.
The Committee has been frequently interacting with the family of the late officer at all stages and has been trying to engage with them at all steps, they said.
The citation of the officer initiated by the officers concerned and the operational details was also taken into consideration by the Army committee.
In November 2016, terrorists dressed in police uniform attacked an artillery unit in Jammu and Kashmir's Nagrota. The attack involved a hostage-like situation with 12 soldiers, two ladies and two children being held captive.
Two Army officers and five jawans lost their lives in the incident. Major Girish was one of the officers who lost his life in the terror attack. (ANI)