Assam Police STF honoured with national award for ‘Operation Praghat’
The Special Task Force, led by IGP Partha Sarathi Mahanta, has been awarded the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak 2025
A file image of STF team being awarded Commendation Certificates at APHQ by Assam Police in 2024 (Photo: Assam Police/x)
Guwahati, Oct 31: The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police has been conferred the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak (KGDP) 2025 in the Special Operations category for its exemplary role in Operation Praghat.
The operation was a high-impact, multi-state counter-terrorism mission that dismantled a jihadi network spanning Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala.
The STF unit, led by Dr Partha Sarathi Mahanta, IPS, Inspector General of Police (STF), received one of India’s highest honours in policing for its “remarkable success and operational excellence” in the coordinated crackdown.
The award also recognises the contributions of key STF officers — Pranab Kumar Pegu (Addl. SP STF), Anurag Sarmah (Addl. SP STF), Kh. Satyendra Singh Hazari (Dy SP STF), and Inspectors Saroj Doley, Sankar Jyoti Nath, Kapil Pathak, and Vikram Basumatary.
Operation Praghat, launched in December 2024, was a joint counter-terror effort by the police forces of Assam, West Bengal, and Kerala.
The STF arrested eight suspects, including a Bangladeshi national identified as Md Sad Radi alias Md Shab Sheikh (32), who had illegally entered India to activate sleeper cells in the Northeast and beyond.
According to official sources, the module operated under the guidance of Md Farhan Israk, a close associate of Jasimuddin Rahmani, leader of the banned Bangladesh-based terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
The group’s objective, investigators revealed, was to recruit local youth, establish training networks, procure arms, and target members of the RSS and other Hindu organisations to foment communal unrest and destabilise the region.
Beyond the STF’s recognition, Assam Police officers from the Investigation Field category were also honoured for their outstanding work. The awardees include Phulkan Narzary (Dy SP), Akhilesh Kumar Singh (SP), Prakash Sonowal (SDPO), Madhurima Das (Dy SP), and Umesh Borah (SI).
Instituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs in February 2024 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak recognises excellence in Special Operations, Investigation, Intelligence, and Forensic Science.
The awards, announced annually on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, aim to uphold high professional standards and boost morale among police and CAPF personnel nationwide.
This year, 1,466 personnel across India were honoured under various categories.