Police Commemoration Day: 154 Names Added to Wall of Valour
Image: PTI (file photo)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid tribute to police personnel who died in the line of duty at the National Police Memorial in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, on Wednesday, 21 October, Police Commemoration Day. The names of 154 personnel who died this year were read out and added to the memorial’s Wall of Valour, according to reports of the ceremony; the Home Ministry’s release said Shah addressed the function and honoured the fallen.
Joint Parade by Ten Forces
Contingents of the BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP, SSB, NSG, Assam Rifles, RPF, NDRF and Delhi Police took part in the parade. Intelligence Bureau Director Mahesh Dixit read out the 154 names and said 36,852 police personnel have died on duty since Independence, SSB Crack reported. Shah called the memorial a place of pilgrimage and said, “This year, 154 more brave personnel have been added to this list,” Asianet News reported.
He also thanked central armed police force personnel for their election and internal security duties. Shah said they had conducted the West Bengal Assembly elections “without a single loss of life”.
Why 21 October
The day marks 21 October 1959, when ten CRPF personnel died resisting Chinese troops at Hot Springs in Ladakh. Shah recalled it as “the ultimate sacrifice”, ANI reported. The memorial itself was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 October 2018. It has a 30-foot granite cenotaph, the Wall of Valour and an underground museum on the history of policing.
For comparison, 216 personnel had died on duty in the year covered by the 2024 observance, when the all-India total stood at 36,438, The Tribune reported then.
Events at the Memorial Until 30 October
The central armed police forces will hold further commemorative events at the memorial from 22 to 30 October, including programmes with families of the fallen, SSB Crack reported. The practice follows recommendations of the 2019 DGP/IGP conference. For related security coverage, see the Rajnath Singh report from Dushanbe and the Daily Updates section.
Source: PIB release on Amit Shah at the National Police Memorial. Also based on reporting by ANI, Asianet News and SSB Crack.
Image: PTI (file photo).
