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Coast Guard personnel honoured

Special Correspondent

Inspector General Achutan Rajasekhar awarded for distinguished service

— Photo: AP

Defence Minister A.K Antony with awardees after the Indian Coast Guard investiture ceremony in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Saturday honoured Coast Guard personnel, including one for distinguished service, four for gallantry and six for meritorious service.

Inspector General Achutan Rajasekhar was awarded the President's Tatrakshak Medal for distinguished service, while DIG Suresh Goyal, Vivek Vajpayee, K. Janardanan, V. Radhakrishnan, Manoj Kumar Singh and Mandeep Singh got the medal for meritorious service.

Among the winners of the Tatrakshak Medal for gallantry was Commandant Satish Kumar. He rescued five men from the swirling waters of the Adyar river near Pallavaram, Chennai last year. He took off in a helicopter and rescued the stranded men.

"This daredevil act of flying low and in adverse weather condition resulted in the saving of five lives. He has upheld the highest traditions of the service and its motto `We protect'," read his citation.

Commandant Praveen Gaur was honoured for saving two fishermen from the Sentinel tribe people in an island in the Andaman and Nicobar. After a boat went missing with the two aboard, Commandant Gaur took off in a helicopter and located the vessel on the edge of the North Sentinel Island. Tribals surrounded the boat, but he diverted them and saved the two fishermen.

Deputy Commandant Sujeet Dwivedi was honoured for rescuing six fishermen in a stalled vessel in rough weather. His colleague Chandra Shekhar Joshi located and rescued the surviving crew of a merchant vessel.

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