Rakesh Balwal, Mohita Sharma, Riaz Dar awarded COAS Commendation Disc

Srinagar, Aug 14: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar Rakesh Balwal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ramban Mohita Sharma and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Riaz Dar have been awarded the Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Disc for their gallantry and distinguished services.

The Commendation Disc of the Indian Army are awarded by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) or General Officer Commanding-in Chiefs (GoC-in- Chief) of the Indian Army for acts of gallantry, distinguished service, or devotion to duty

A 2012 batch IPS officer, IPS officer, Balwal was posted as SSP Srinagar in December 2021.

He had replaced SSP Sandeep Chaudhary, who was shifted and posted as the SSP-Cyber Crime Investigation Centre for Excellence

Balwal was moved from the Manipur cadre to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre for a period of three years in a relaxation of policy in November 2021.

Earlier, he served the NIA on deputation and headed the investigation into the Pulwama attack, which left 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPD) soldiers dead in 2019.

Balwal is believed to be the mind behind the exhaustive 13,500-page NIA chargesheet filed before a special court in J&K on the Pulwama attack.

Mohita Sharma, an IPS officer of 2017 batch, and presently SSP Ramban has served in many capacities in J&K since her posting in J&K.

DySP Riaz Ahmed is the third officer awarded the COAS Commendation Disc for gallantry and distinguished services.