Wing Commander Chandra Datt Upadhyay was deployed as ‘Type Force Commander’ of the Pratap Fleet of Indian Air Force Element of Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka from the 19th October, 1987 to 3rd November 1987, when the IPKF was engaged in fierce battle with Tamil Militants for control of Jaffna town.

On the 19th October, 1987 and again on the 20th October, 1987, Wing Commander Upadhaya carried out sorties to take urgent rations, petrol, oil and ammunition for the advancing Army columns and evacuate casualties. He carried out the mission by landing on an open field which was under fire from all sides.

On the 21st October, 1987, a single helicopter special mission of para commando was dropped at Achuvail and then para commandos and prisoners were picked up from Puttur West. During take off from the ground at Puttur West, his helicopter was fired at by the militants by machine gun & rockets. One rocket damaged the trailing edge of a rotor blade, causing severe vibration. The helicopter went out of control and started descending rapidly. Wing Commander Upadhyay showing great professional skill controlled the helicopter only a few feet above the ground and turned back and landed the stricken helicopter in the same field. All the passengers and crew took shelter in ditches and once the crossfire ceased, he inspected the helicopter. Since the damage was very light, he restarted the helicopter, boarded the passengers and managed to fly it back at low speed to the airfield, thus saving valuable lives and a helicopter.

Wing Commander Chandra Datt Upadhaya thus displayed exceptional professional skill, extreme devotion to duty and courage in the face of the militants in Sri Lanka.

On the 22nd June, 1988, Flight Lieutenant Nicodemus Manohar Samuel was detailed for a special task involving winching down of IPKF reconnaissance party in the most difficult and thickly vegetated terrain in Mullaitivu area in Sri Lanka. This operation involved hovering over an area which was expected to be infested with hard core militants. During the execution of this mission, his helicopter came under heavy ground fire from the surrounding area. However, with utmost dedication and total disregard to personal safety, Flight Lieutenant Samuel continued to hover till the recce party was retrieved by winching. In the resultant ground fire, the helicopter sustained extensive damage and some of the crew members and the troops on board were injured. In spite of being subjected to heavy ground fire, Flight Lieutenant Samuel kept his cool and continued to fly his helicopter in the damaged condition till his mission was completed. He also displayed excellent airmanship by correctly assessing the damage caused to the helicopter and flying this crippled machine safely to the nearest helipad, thereby avoiding further damage to his helicopter and also to render immediate medical aid to the injured troops/crew.

In the whole operation, Flight Lieutenant Nicodemus Manohar Samuel showed courage and professional skill of extremely high order, with total disregard to personal safety in the face of the militants.

On the 23rd September 1987, Flight Lieutenant Abdul Naseer Hanfee was launched in Siachen area to assist the Army. Taking off in a short time, he immediately undertook the much-needed Army support missions in the area. At a time when all our forward posts were under attack by enemy and the demand for ammunition and other logistic support came up, Flight Lieutenant Hanfee rose to the occasion and accepted the challenge. Flying from sunrise to sunset in marginal weather conditions with frequent snow blizzards and white out conditions and frequent enemy shelling of the posts, he achieved 14 to 15 sorties a day for three continuous days, with total disregard to him personal safety. He single handedly managed to provide the much-needed logistic support for two days, which was a big morale booster for the troops in Siachen Glacier area, fighting the enemy a hostile terrain.

In a restricted area where the guns were required to fire continuously to meet the enemy challenge, he also showed exceptional professionalism by evacuating 38 casualties in a single day from the area which was in the close proximity of enemy posts with undue disregard to his personal safety.

Thus, Flight Lieutenant Abdul Naseer Hanfee exhibited high degree of professional skill and courage in the face of the adversary.