New Delhi, Oct 31 (NVI): National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer Sandeep Chaudhary, who was the Chief Investigating Officer in the Pahalgam terror attack case, has been awarded the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation for 2026, officials said on Saturday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the recipients of the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak, with Chaudhary being recognised in the investigation category.
A 2012-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Chaudhary is currently posted as Deputy Inspector General in the NIA.
He led the investigation into the April 22, 2025, terror attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed. The NIA took over the probe shortly after the attack.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Sajid Jatt were among those named as accused in the chargesheet filed in the case.
Before joining the NIA, Chaudhary served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Shopian, Anantnag and Srinagar, where he led several counter-insurgency operations.
He has been awarded gallantry medals nine times for his role in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2021, an operation led by Chaudhary resulted in the arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu along with then Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh.
He has also received commendation discs from the Chief of Army Staff, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command, Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force, and the Directors General of the CRPF, J&K Police, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and NIA.—(NVI)
