The family of police constable Ajay Gawand, who lost his life in the line of duty in 2014, was felicitated by Mumbai Police Commissioner Subodh Jaiswal at an awards ceremony organised by the Indian Merchants’ Chamber on Friday morning.
Then posted with the Dongri police, Gawand responded to a call on December 3 night about a drug addict breaking into a three-storey building in Dongri. The thief was hiding on the terrace and hit Gawand repeatedly on the head with a stone when the latter tried to nab him, resulting in his death. His funeral was attended by then Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria along with the rest of the Mumbai Police top brass.
“I feel really proud to be his wife. Though the pain of my loss can never be healed I still feel happy that he lost his life serving the people. My son, who accepted the award on his father’s behalf, is even happier than me,” Gawand’s wife Swati said.
In all, 12 police personnel across ranks were awarded on Friday for their good work in various fields, including crime detection, conviction, traffic management and cyber crime.
“We have lost almost 35,000 police personnel since Independence, some fighting Naxalites and others carrying out acts of bravery in their every day professional duties. The common man does not even know about such feats. The respect granted to these policemen with such felicitation is highly appreciable,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
“The police works day and night to keep the country and its citizens safe. However, it’s very sad to see that they don’t get enough respect from the people,” IMC president Raj Nair said.
Police Inspector Arjun Jagdale with the Mumbai Crime Branch Unit II was felicitated for ‘Best Detection of Crime’, while Assistant Police Inspector Laxmikant Salunkhe, Property Cell was awarded for ‘Best Recovery of Property’. Mr. Salunkhe’s team had in 2017 cracked a burglary case in Mulund in 2016, arresting the accused and recovering almost all the jewellery he stole, which was worth around ₹80 lakh.
“It is heartening to see our efforts being recognised by someone outside the force, as a lot of good work put in by us goes unnoticed. Gestures like this will only motivate us to work harder and serve the people better,” Mr. Salunkhe said.
The other awardees include Police Sub Inspector Prakash Kadam for ‘Best Conviction of Crime’, Police Constable Sudarshan Shinde for ‘Courageous Act To Safeguard Human Lives, Assistant Sub Inspector Vilas Bhabal and Police Constable Chetan Kadam for ‘Outstanding work by Traffic Police’, Police Inspector Santosh Bhalekar for ‘Outstanding Work to curb the drug menace’, Police Inspector Pratap Bhosle for ‘Best Investigation in Cyber Crime’, Police Inspector Rais Shaikh for ‘Help provided to victims’ and Assistant Commissioner of Police Gajanan Shelar and Police Inspector Rajendra Kane for the ‘Innovative plan for a better environment or better public service’.
“On behalf of the entire police force, I promise that we will keep making our country and citizens safe and proud,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
