D. Sreeram Kumar

D. Sreeram Kumar, AC (born 11 January 1981) is a commissioned officer in the Indian Army. In 2010, he was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry decoration.

Early life Sreeram Kumar was born in Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu. He completed his schooling from Sainik School, Amaravathinagar in 1998. He completed his under graduation from The American College in Madurai.

Army career Early career Sreeram Kumar joined the Officers Training Academy, Chennai in October 2002 and received a short-service commission in 90 Medium Regiment (Artillery) on 20 March 2004, with the rank of lieutenant. On 20 March 2009, he received a regular commission (seniority from 20 October 2004) with the service number IC-66076A, Promoted acting major on 24 August 2008, he served with 39 Assam Rifles in Arunachal Pradesh (Operation Orchid) and later in Manipur (Operation Hifazat).

Ashoka Chakra Sreeram Kumar receives the Ashoka Chakra from Indian president Pratibha Patil on 26 January 2010.

In 2010, Sreeram Kumar was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry decoration.

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Subsequent career Kumar received a substantive promotion to major on 20 October 2010, with promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 20 October 2017. On 31 January 2021, he was promoted to colonel (by selection), with seniority from 26 October 2019. He later went on to command 90 Medium Regiment and was later selected for Higher Command course at Army War Collage Mhow. He is currently posted in Southern Command

Controversy In March 2013, a Supreme Court judicial commission ruled the killing of cousins Gobind and Nobo Meitei in the Langol area of Imphal to have been a staged encounter. The killings took place on 4 April 2009, and involved a joint team of local police and a unit of 39 Assam Rifles commanded by Kumar. While official statements from the paramilitary forces were that the cousins had opened fire when challenged and had been killed in response, the judicial panel concluded that based on medical evidence and witness testimonies, the action was "not an encounter but an operation by the security forces wherein death of the victims was caused knowingly".

Referring to the encounter, in which 89 rounds were fired at the pair, Kumar was reported as saying the encounter had been genuine, and that his understanding was "when a person is warned by the security forces and if he reacts by firing, such a person is a hardcore terrorist."

On 14 July 2017, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe into several extrajudicial killings in Manipur, including the case in which Kumar was implicated.