New Delhi

Sandeep Chaudhary, IPS officer who investigated the Pahalgam terrorist attack of 2022, is among the Ministry of Home Affairs’ awardees of the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak for the year 2026.

The award recognised Chaudhary’s ace investigation into one of the most heibnous terrorist attacks in Kashmir.

A 2012-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Chaudhary served as the Chief Investigating Officer in the April 22, 2025 attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.

The NIA took over the investigation following the attack and subsequently filed a chargesheet against several accused, including Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives Hafiz Saeed and Sajid Jatt.

Before joining the NIA, Chaudhary served as Senior Superintendent of Police in Shopian, Anantnag and Srinagar, overseeing several counter-terrorism operations.

His service record includes nine gallantry medals for his role in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also received commendation discs from the Chief of Army Staff, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command and the Directors General of the CRPF, J&K Police, Bureau of Police Research and Development and NIA.

In 2021, an operation led by Chaudhary resulted in the arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu, along with then Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh.

The medal is formally known as the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak.

The Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak has been awarded to 490 police personnel from various States and Union Territories, Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organisations for 2026. The medal recognises outstanding work, promotes high professional standards and boosts the morale of police personnel.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak was instituted on 1 February 2024. It is conferred on members of police forces, security organisations, Central Armed Police Forces, the National Security Guard, Assam Rifles and forensic science professionals.

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The medal recognises excellence in operations, outstanding service in investigations, exceptional performance, indomitable and daring intelligence service, and meritorious work by serving g overnment scientists in the field of forensic science. It is announced on 31 October every year, on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.