New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel involved in probing the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit doctor Sarla Bhat and combating infiltration along the Kathua border are among 52 police personnel from the Union Territory who have been selected for gallantry and distinguished- and meritorious-service medals on Independence Day 2026.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ official honours list, Shoket Hussain Shah, Senior Superintendent, has been selected for the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service; 38 Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel have been selected for Medals for Gallantry, including two Deputy Inspectors General, two Senior Superintendents of Police and two Superintendents of Police. Thirteen J&K police personnel have been selected for Medals for Meritorious Service.
The J&K Police senior officers named in the list are DIGs Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pande Rajiv Omprakash, SSPs Shobhit D. Saksena and Mushtaq Ahmad, and SPs Nasir Ahmad and Divya D.
Recently, Divya D., Superintendent of Police with the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Kashmir, concluded a year-long investigation into the abduction and killing of Sarla Bhat in 1990. The investigation culminated in a 737-page charge sheet filed before a special court in Srinagar on 29 June this year.
Sarla Bhat probe
Bhat was abducted from the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), confined at the residence of a JKLF commander and later shot dead. Her bullet-riddled body was dumped in downtown Srinagar with a note branding her a mukhbir (informer). It was found on 19 April 1990.
Yasin Malik, the jailed chief of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has been named (along with other JKLF terrorists) as an accused in the charge sheet filed by the J&K SIA.
Malik, a Kashmiri separatist, is currently in Tihar jail, serving a life sentence in a terror-funding case.
Infiltration in Kathua
When IPS officer Shobhit Saksena was posted in Kathua district in 2024, an ambush took place between Army personnel and terrorists in Badnotta. According to sources in the J&K Police, the incident marked the beginning of a major infiltration attempt during the summer.
For Saksena, one of the key objectives was to ensure that both the Lok Sabha and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections were conducted peacefully.
During this period, security forces identified infiltrators who had entered the Kathua region from Pakistan.
“More teams were deployed in Kathua. Parliamentary elections were conducted peacefully. The next goal was the Legislative Assembly,” Saksena told ThePrint.
Subsequently, more operations were launched, leading to the elimination of several terrorists. Additional forces were deployed in the hilly areas of Kathua district, which lies near the trijunction of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Kathua is also an important industrial hub of the Union Territory.
“Two days before the Legislative Assembly elections, terrorists had come down to where many political leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, had come for election rallies,” Saksena said.
The focus, he said, was on identifying the infiltrators and neutralising the threat. Security teams studied infiltration patterns and carried out intelligence-based operations.
“We had successful raids. We busted multiple terrorist hideouts. It helped us identify their strategies. More forces were deployed on the ground. Finally, in March 2025, we managed to confront terrorists. More terrorists were eliminated in the following months. The Kathua region was sanitised. There has been no fresh infiltration. Our men have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of all people and have also been rewarded by the Government of India,” Saksena told ThePrint.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha congratulated the police personnel on X. “Their courage and unwavering devotion to duty reflect the highest traditions of public service. The nation is proud of their exemplary commitment and sacrifice. I also congratulate the Home Guards and Civil Defence on receiving the Medal for Meritorious Service,” Sinha said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Dead suspects, scarce evidence & a 35 year-wait—J&K cops to file chargesheet in Sarla Bhat murder