Jammu: National Investigation Agency Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sandeep Chaudhary has been awarded the ‘Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak’ for 2026 in the Investigation category.
Chaudhary, a 2012-batch AGMUT officer, is among 123 officers and personnel recognised for their outstanding work in the field of investigation.
According to an official statement, he led the probe after the NIA took over the investigation of the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, which left 25 tourists and a local resident dead.
The ‘Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak’ has been awarded to 490 personnel of various States and Union Territories (UTs), Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), and Central Police Organisations (CPOs) for 2026. The medal aims to recognise excellent work, promote high professional standards and boost the officials’ morale, the statement said.
Of the total recipients, 358 personnel have been recognised in the Special Operation category, 123 in the Investigation category and nine in the Forensic Science category.
While the award announcement recognises Chaudhary’s contribution in the investigation category, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ published award list does not identify the specific case or investigation for which he has been selected.
The Ministry of Home Affairs promoted Chaudhary to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) on a pro forma basis, with effect from January 1, 2026.
Inspector Feroz Ahmad Itoo from Jammu and Kashmir has also been named among the recipients of the medal in the investigation category, bringing recognition to another police officer from the Union Territory.
The Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak was instituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs through a notification dated February 1, 2024. The award aims to recognise excellence in operations, outstanding work in investigation, exceptional performance, courageous intelligence service and meritorious contributions in forensic science.
The medal is conferred on members of State and Union Territory Police Forces, Security Organisations, Intelligence Wings, Central Police Organisations, Central Armed Police Forces, the National Security Guard, Assam Rifles and serving government scientists working in forensic science.
The award is announced annually on October 31, the birth anniversary of former home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
The 2026 awards recognise the professional contributions of police and security personnel from across the country to promote high standards of policing, encouraging excellence and boosting the morale of personnel engaged in different areas of national security and law enforcement.
After the NIA took over the probe into the April 22, 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, the agency subsequently filed two chargesheets before the Special NIA Court in Jammu. The original chargesheet, filed on December 15, 2025, ran into 1,597 pages and named seven accused.
These included “Pakistani handler” Sajid Jatt, three Pakistani terrorists identified as Faisal Jatt alias Suleman Shah, Habeeb Tahir alias Jibran and Hamza Afghani, who were killed in the Lidwas area of the Harwan-Dachigam forest belt on the outskirts of Srinagar on July 28, 2025, during Operation Mahadev, and local facilitators Parvaiz Ahmad and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, who were arrested for allegedly providing logistical support and shelter to the terrorists.
On July 6, 2026, the agency filed a supplementary chargesheet naming Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed in his individual capacity and as the outfit’s supreme commander, also identifying the organisation’s proxy, The Resistance Front (TRF), in the alleged conspiracy. The filing led to the issuance of an open-dated non-bailable warrant against Saeed.
Both chargesheets invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging a cross-border conspiracy to carry out the attack and wage war against India.
