Constable Kamlesh Kumari

Constable Kamlesh Kumari of the CRPF was on duty at a gate of Parliament House on 13 December 2001 when five heavily armed terrorists drove into the complex while both houses were in session. She was among the first to notice the vehicle had no business being there and immediately raised the alarm, triggering the security response that prevented the attackers from reaching the building itself. She was shot and killed almost instantly. Her alertness — those few seconds of warning — is credited with preventing the terrorists from entering Parliament. She was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, becoming first woman from India's police and paramilitary forces.