A rousing reception was accorded to the police team that is currently on a cycle expedition from Kashmir to Kanyakumari upon its arrival in the city on Friday.
Comprising 10 instructors and men from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad, the team is headed by the Academy’s Joint Director and Inspector General of Police G. Uma Ganapathy Sastry and Assistant Director and Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar Nand.
About 50 police personnel from the State are accompanying the team in the Tamil Nadu leg of the expedition that will reach Kanyakumari on December 14.
IG Sastry and SSP Nand set out on the expedition with the theme “Indian Police – In the Service of Nation” from Srinagar on November 7 and were soon joined by a team from the SVPNPA at Jammu. Local police officers and men besides National Cadet Corps cadets accompanied the SVPNPA team as it passed through different states.
A ‘poorna kumbha’ reception was accorded to them on arrival in the city on Friday morning. Commissioner of Police Karuna Sagar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) S. Rajendiran and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) Rupesh Kumar Meena received the team members at Chinthamani and presented them with shawls.
A function was later organised in honour of the expedition team in which IG Sastry, Commissioner Sagar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tiruchi Range, M. Ramasubramani and senior police officers and men took part.
Speaking on the occasion, IG Sastry said this was for the first time that men from the Police Department had embarked on an all-India cycle expedition. Commissioner of Police Sagar and SSP Nand also spoke.
In an informal chat with reporters later, IG Sastry termed the expedition as a “good adventure and good learning experience”. The team had covered various States as part of its 38-day expedition, he said adding that the 150th year of Tamil Nadu Police had been tagged with the Indian Police – In the Service of Nation theme as the expedition entered Tamil Nadu.
The objective of the mission was to drive home the message that police was doing a great job besides seeking public help to enable law enforcers continue with their great job, he said. The mission was also to promote physical fitness, save fuel and check pollution. After an overnight halt at Tiruchi, the team will leave for Madurai on Saturday.
