1,799 cops sacrificed lives since 1981: DGP
Paying tributes to the martyrs of the police on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day at PAP grounds here, DGP Gaurav Yadav said 1,799 police personnel had laid down their lives since September 1981.
The Punjab Police chief said, “It is because of these martyrs that we all are enjoying freedom.”
He said the police were known for their bravery, courage and successfully rooting out militancy. They would continue to work harder towards maintaining peace and communal harmony in the border state, he asserted.
HISTORY OF POLICE COMMEMORATION DAY
- Police Commemoration Day goes back to October 21, 1959, when a patrol party of the CRPF, led by SI Karam Singh, was ambushed by the Chinese forces at Hot Springs in Ladakh and 10 jawans were killed.
- Recognising that fighting at 16,000 ft altitude in extremely cold conditions and it needed the rare courage, the ITBP sends a representative party of all police forces to Hot Springs, Ladakh, every year to pay homage to the martyrs, who laid down their lives in 1959, while guarding the frontiers.
- Since then, on October 21 every year, commemoration parades are held in all police units as a mark of respect to martyrs, who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
The DGP also met the families of martyrs and listened to them sympathetically, assuring them of support and cooperation from the government as well as the police. Among the families who met Yadav was that of slain Constable Mandeep Singh, who was gunned down by extortionists targeting cloth merchant Timmy Chawla in Nakodar two years ago.
His wife Mandeep Kaur got emotional while introducing her three-year-old son Samardeep Singh to him. She was consoled by the DGP as she thanked him for providing a job on compassionate grounds to her brother-in-law.
“We will not let the sacrifices of our heroes go in vain. I assure you that the police will continue to serve with dedication and bravery to ensure peace and harmony in the state,” he told the families present at the site.
Yadav said that street crime and the sale of drugs were the two identified areas, which directly affect the citizens. To combat the street crime, a strategy had been devised to identify crime hotspots using crime mapping and intensifying police patrolling and deployment accordingly at such areas, he said.
He said the police had also started a health insurance scheme for their personnel. He added that under this scheme, 300 hospitals had been empanelled across the state, where they can avail medical facilities at subsidised rates.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Special DGPs, several ADGPs and IGPs, and other senior police officers/officials.
