Captain CR Leena is a retired officer of the Indian Army. She is the first woman officer of the Indian Army to have received a Sena Medal (SM) for gallantry.
Wiki/Biography
After completing her schooling in the science stream, in 1984, Captain (Dr) CR Leena cleared the all-India Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) entrance examination and joined the AFMC from where she pursued her MBBS. From 1989-1990, she pursued her Master of Surgery (MS) in Oncology at the Army Hospital Research And Referral (R&R).
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 4″
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Not much is known about her parents or siblings.
Captain CR Leena with her mother
Husband & Children
Her husband, Major Sanjay Dhadwal, is a retired officer of the Indian Army. Her son, Shivrit Dhadwal, is a lawyer.
Shivrit Dadhwal, son of Captain CR Leena
Career
Captain CR Leena was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Indian Army’s Army Medical Corps (AMC) in 1989. In 1992, CR Leena was posted in Kashmir’s Anantnag district and after serving in the Indian Army for five years, in 1996, she retired from the Indian Army as a captain.
Captain CR Leena with other officers
After leaving the army, in 1996, CR Leena served as a junior resident doctor at the Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi. In 2000, she was made a senior resident doctor at the same hospital. She continued to work there till the end of 2001. From 2002 to 2003, CR Leena served as the clinical assistant at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center (RGCIRC). In 2004, she left Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center and joined the Rockland Hospital in New Delhi, where she worked as an associate consultant till 2007. From 2008 to 2013, she worked at the Fortis Hospital in New Delhi as a consultant. In 2014, she left Fortis and joined Dharamshila Cancer Center as a consultant. She left the Dharamshila Cancer Center in 2015. In 2016, CR Leena joined the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Center as a consultant for surgical oncology.
Sena Medal
In 1992, CR Leena was posted to the Ananthnag district of South Kashmir. There, she was posted as a Medical Officer (MO) with the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Gorkha Rifles (3/5 GR). On the night of 16 July 1992, when she was moving to the battalion headquarters, her convoy came under a heavy volume of gunfire from the militants. CR Leena, unmindful of her safety, moved towards the injured troops and provided them with first aid and saved many lives. On 15 January 1995, during the Indian Army day parade, CR Leena was awarded a Sena Medal (SM) for gallantry.
Captain CR Leena’s Sena Medal citation
Salary/Allowance
As per the instructions of the Indian Army, a soldier who wins a gallantry award shall receive some state and central monetary benefits.
A letter written by the Army Headquarters
Facts/Trivia
- In 1995, Captain CR Leena became India’s first woman officer to have received a gallantry award.
- In 2022, Captain Leena’s son, Shivrit Dadhwal, took to Twitter and revealed that it was CR Leena who became India’s first woman officer to receive a Sena Medal for gallantry and not Colonel Mitali Madhumita, and Colonel Mitali Madhumita is India’s second woman officer to have received a gallantry award.
Why is a wrong information being circulated on the internet also no objection is being raised about the same.
Kindly correct me, if wrong and please let me know if otherwise.
Bur as per the source mentioned, Capt Dr Leena Dadhwal is The First Woman to receive a Gallantry Award. pic.twitter.com/gW4AOJHUG4
— Shivrit Dhadwal (@_shivritdhadwal) December 30, 2021