72 Hours Of Courage: Meet The BSF Women Warriors Who Defended Akhnoor Posts

Seven BSF women personnel, led by Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, display exceptional courage and operational excellence in Operation Sindoor, holding forward posts for 72 hours under continuous enemy shelling.

BSF's Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, who commanded a forward post along the IB during Operation Sindoor in Jammu (IANS)

In a rare show of bravery and operational perfection, seven BSF women personnel occupied forward posts for three days and nights straight under relentless enemy shelling during Operation Sindoor in Jammu and Kashmir's Akhnoor sector. The women personnel, who were part of the contingent led by Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari, declined to withdraw from front-line operations as intense cross-border firing increased. The women troops held their ground at two sensitive posts, compelling enemy withdrawal through constant counteroffensive efforts, BSF officials said.

Refused To Withdraw Under Fire

Assistant Commandant Bhandari, with a service history in the BSF of only three years, turned down senior officers' suggestions to withdraw from frontline operations. "When we underwent training as soldiers, the regimen and facilities were no different from those of our male colleagues. I felt no need to take a step back," she was reported to have said.

The operation came in the aftermath of India's cross-border retaliatory strikes on terror camps after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that resulted in 26 deaths.

The Team Behind The Heroics

The unit led by Bhandari consisted of six other BSF members. Of these, four had joined the force in 2023, while two had almost 17 years of experience between them. The troops included:

• Manjit Kour and Malkit Kour from Punjab
• Swapna Rath and Shampa Basak from West Bengal
• Sumi Xess from Jharkhand
• Jyoti Banian from Odisha

Fighting under conditions almost akin to war, the women employed active defense and weapons deployment on flat trajectories as well as area weapons. Officials verified that their operations severely destroyed the enemy post and brought the advances to a stop.

A Historic Command

BSF DIG Varindar Dutta of the Sunderbani sector commended Bhandari for her leadership, adding that she also coordinated Army reinforcements and took tactical decisions about artillery deployment independently.

"Today is the first time a woman BSF officer has ever commanded in an active combat situation," he said.

Honours And Recognition

For her exceptional leadership and valor, Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari was felicitated by Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi with the Army Chief's Commendation Disc on Friday.

Both of Bhandari's parents have served in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), making her act of courage part of a continuing family legacy in India’s uniformed services.