Major A. Ranjith Kumar, a native of Tiruppur district, received his second Sena Medal (Gallantry) – referred to as “Bar to Sena Medal” – during the Central Command Investiture Ceremony 2024 held in Lucknow last week.
The officer led an avalanche rescue team from the High Altitude Warfare School, Gulmarg, in search of 29 students from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, who went missing on October 4, 2022, after an avalanche hit the area.
He had planned a route to reach the site, located at an altitude of about 5,500 metres. His operation led to the locating of the mortal remains of 27 students, who were buried in the avalanche. The paratrooper, from the 23rd battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces), was awarded his first Sena Medal (Gallantry) in 2020 for his key role in an operation in the Kashmir Valley.
