He was shot at nine times during an operation against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February 2017. The bullets had hit the brave Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer in the brain, the right eye, both arms, left hand, abdomen and the buttock region. But just over a year later, Chetan Cheetah is back on duty.
The Commandant of CRPF’s 45th battalion has reportedly joined the paramilitary force’s directorate at CGO Complex till he is allocated a posting. Though Cheetah wants to get back into combat mode, officials have said that he is not fully fit for that kind of arduous task and has thus being given official duties.
According to officials, it would take him another one to two years to go back into combat.
The brave officer was honoured with the Kirti Chakra, the nation’s second highest peacetime gallantry award, on Independence Day last year for his bravery during a joint operation against terrorists in Parraypora village, located in Bandipora district’s Hajin area in J-K.
Cheetah, who hails from Rajasthan, was brought to the AIIMS in New Delhi in a state of coma. He was treated for about two months at the premier medical institution of the country before being discharged in April. Doctors who operated upon him had praised Cheetah’s resolve to fight back his wounds.
AIIMS doctors had called his recovery “nothing short of a miracle”. They said that the chances of Cheetah recovering his vision in the right eye are bleak though his left eye is functioning normally despite suffering injuries from splinters.
Top ministers and senior officials from security forces including MoS Home Kiren Rijiju and Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat had visited Cheetah at the hospital. Many other ministers including Home Minister Rajnath Singh had lauded Cheetah’s indomitable fighting spirit.
According to the TOI, Cheetah now wants to join the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) – the elite special forces of the CRPF – to take on the Naxals.