Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, who led his troops against the "vicious" Chinese attack in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, has been posthumously named for the second-highest military award, Mahavir Chakra, for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, according to an official announcement on Monday.
Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 in Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades.
Four other soldiers --Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren, Havildar (Gunner) K Palani, Naik Deepak Singh and Sepoy Gurtej Singh-- who also laid down their lives valiantly fighting the Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley clash have been named for Vir Chakra awards posthumously.