Lieutenant General who planned surgical strike awarded PVSM

Lieutenant General Rajendra Ramrao Nimbhorkar has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for distinguished service. Nimbhorkar is presently Master General of the Ordnance (MGO), and looks after the Army's procurements. As a Corps Commander at Nagrota, he also planned and executed the famous surgical strike. He has become the only serving officer to get the maximum number of gallantry and distinguished service awards, an official said. "He has the unique distinction of having received an award at each level of service," said an official.

Hailing from a farming family from the Vidarbha region, the Lt Gen did his schooling at the Sainik School Satara and was trained at the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He has served in Leh, Kargil, Kashmir Valley, Poonch Rajouri, deserts and the North East in operational scenario. Among past honours he received is a medal he received after he got critically injured while commanding his battalion during Operation Vijay on Line of Control in Rajouri sector. He was selected as military observer for a United Nations (UN) mission in Angola.

He captured an enemy post in Dras Sector as Captain, and as Major, he killed 22 terrorists in Baramulla district of Kashmir. As General Officer Commanding in south Kashmir, he planned and achieved the elimination of 55 terrorists and neutralised prominent terrorist leaders and achieved normalcy in the area. Lt Gen Nimbhorkar is also Colonel of the Punjab Regiment. He is only the second Maharashtrian after Lt Gen Thorat to hold this post.

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