The Director-General of Police (DGP) and Head of the Police Force (HoPF), Shankar Jiwal, senior police officers, heads of defence establishments and retired officers paid tributes to police personnel who have died in the line of duty, on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day, on Saturday.
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Police Commemoration Day is observed on October 21 every year, to commemorate and pay tributes to the 10 policemen who were killed by Chinese troops in an ambush in the Hot Springs area near Ladakh on October 21, 1959. The sacrifices of police personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty, are recalled on this occasion.
At the Martyr’s column in Police Headquarters, Mr. Jiwal placed a wreath and paid his respects to the martyred officers. He was followed by Lieutenant General Karanbir Singh Brar, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Dakshin Bharat Area, representatives of naval and coast guard units, serving DGP rank officers, including Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore, as well as A.K. Viswanathan, Abhash Kumar, Seema Agarwal, Amaraesh Pujari, Rajiv Kumar, Abhay Kumar Singh, K. Vannia Perumal and other former DGPs.
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Officers of other departments including Chennai District Collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade also participated.
As a mark of respect to police personnel who have lost their lives, personnel from the Armed Reserve gave a gun salute by firing three rounds into the air and the police band also performed. The Caprisoned Mounted Horse Unit was also deployed around the Martyr’s column. The gathering observed a two-minute silence.
Recalling the sacrifices of police personnel, Mr. Jiwal said in the chilling cold winter of Ladakh, on October, 21, 1959, a police contingent comprising CRPF and ITBF personnel (the Intelligence Bureau’s only armed detachment) was patrolling on China border, when it was ambushed by the Chinese Army. A total of 12 police personnel were martyred in the incident.
Mr. Jiwal said since 1962, all police forces in India have been observing October 21 as ‘Police Commemoration Day’ and also every year, a contingent comprising of representatives of all police forces in India visits Ladakh to pay their respects to the martyrs at the original memorial at Hotsprings, Ladakh.
Mr. Jiwal said, “We remember and express our gratitude to each and every one of them and their families and we offer our renewed resolve to wholly dedicate ourselves to the service of the society as a tribute to our martyred brothers and sisters.”