A petitioner has claimed that the Central government has acted against its own brave and deserving officers by denying them gallantry awards for their critical contribution during the November 26, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
PIL filedKetan Tirodkar, who had filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court, seeking awards for the members of the Mumbai Police’s Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) who reduced the damage of the 26/11 attack by defusing grenades and RDX-filled cases, has now filed a rejoinder before the court.
The rejoinder filed before Justices P.V. Hardas and Anuja Prabhudesai on Friday rued that the Centre had treated its “deserving officers in such vicious manner as if to give them an impression that they do not belong to this country.”
Proposal rejectedFour years after the Maharashtra government had submitted a proposal to give gallantry awards to the officers who had fought terrorists, including Ajmal Kasab, during the audacious terror attack, the Central government rejected the proposal without citing any reasons.
The Centre had conveyed the rejection of the proposal in a single-line letter issued to the Maharashtra government.
The list of officers included 19 members of the BDDS team and some police personnel who fought the terrorists and were instrumental in saving the lives of victims.
“Furthermore, officers like Shri Vishwas Nangre-Patil did not figure in the list sent by the State in year 2008-09. Still, he has been honoured with the bravery award on January 26 this year for his services rendered on 26th [November 2008],” the rejoinder stated.
Mr. Tirodkar has said that the woman victim wrote back to the State, thanking the officials for saving her life, “but the Centre is silent.”
