ASI Babu Ram of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was killed in an encounter with three terrorists near Pantha Chowk, Srinagar, in late August 2020.
Pantha Chowk, Srinagar
Police and security forces were checking vehicles at Pantha Chowk on the edge of Srinagar in late August 2020 when three terrorists attacked, took a weapon from a paramilitary member and opened fire. They then holed up in Dhobhi Mohalla nearby.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Babu Ram of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was in the advance party that moved against them. The terrorists fired on the joint search party, and an encounter began.
All three, members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and including a commander, were killed. Babu Ram was killed in the exchange. Reports give the date as either 29 or 30 August 2020.
Eighteen years in the Special Operations Group
He was born on 15 May 1972 in Dharana village, Poonch district. He became a constable in 1999 and was posted to the Special Operations Group in Srinagar on 27 July 2002. Officials said he took part in 14 encounters in which 28 terrorists were killed.
The Ashoka Chakra was the only one on the list approved by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of Independence Day 2021. His wife, Rina Rani, and son, Manik, received it at the Republic Day parade in 2022.
What the citation recorded
The official citation text could not be read for this article. This is a summary, not the citation. Reports record that terrorists attacked police and security forces checking vehicles at Pantha Chowk, Srinagar, took a weapon and fired on them. Babu Ram was in the advance party that went in against them at Dhobhi Mohalla. Three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including a commander, were killed in the encounter, and Babu Ram died in it.