Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, January 15

Lt Col Niranjan E Kumar, head of the Bomb Disposal Unit of the National Security Guards who was killed in the recent terror attack at Pathankot airbase, has been awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation on the occcasion of Army Day 2016. The officer had reportedly been killed in a blast while handling a body of a terrorist that was booby trapped, during the sanitising operations. He was an officer from the Corps of Engineers and went on deputation to the NSG in 2014.The list of commendation cards issued by the Army shows his rank as Major, but mentions his posting with the NSG. A total of 503 persons across all arms and services, including a handful of civilians, have been given commendations this year.The list of martyrs for the past year released by the Army does not mention Lt Col Kumar’s name.