New Delhi: In his first public speech after recovery from Covid-19, Union Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday paid tribute to the policemen who lost their lives in the line of duty during battle against coronavirus, and the soldiers killed in Galwan Valley during the face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh.
Shah was addressing the Police Commemoration Day Parade at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi.
“So far, 35,398 police personnel have lost their lives in the line of duty. During our battle against Covid-19, 343 police personnel lost their lives while serving the nation as corona warriors. I pay my respects and salute all the martyrs. Their names are marked here at the wall,” he said.
“This memorial is not just a building made of bricks and cement. This memorial is a reminder that our soldiers, our policemen have given their lives for the country. Each spec of blood shed by them was for the country. Today the people of the country sleep peacefully at night due to the sacrifices made by these personnel,” he said.
“For these personnel, there are no leaves, no fixed duty hours. They work 24 hours, 365 days a year. When people are celebrating Raksha Bandhan, the police are on the road to ensure proper law and order. Whether it is Eid, Diwali or Holi, a police jawan is not on leave, just so that people can celebrate in peace,” the home minister added.
The Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on 21 October in memory of the CRPF personnel who lost their lives at Hot Springs in Ladakh while fighting Chinese troops on this day in 1959.
Need for technology to secure borders
Speaking of challenges being faced by the police in curbing crime, Shah said the force needs to be prepared and that various measures of police modernisation will soon be in place.
“Police are now handling a range of issues from cyber crime, narcotics, women-related crimes. This is a challenge that we have to prepare our force for. For this, police modernisation programme has been started,” he said.
He added that to secure our borders better, the forces need to be well-equipped with technological know-how as well.
“All forces, whether it is CRPF, ITBP, SSB, BSF, have done very well to secure our borders, but now we want to bring in technology. If we bring in technology along with physical strength our borders will be more secure than ever and the Home Ministry is working in detail on this,” Shah said.
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New initiatives
Shah further said the strength of police personnel per lakh population may be less, but the ministry has been working on programmes to bridge this gap.
“We know that the force is not sufficient for per lakh population but I am assuring you that we are doing a lot of things which will take care of this,” Shah said.
He said the Narendra Modi government has brought in two bills to set up Raksha Shakti University and Forensic Science University, which will further strengthen the system.
“The Raksha Shakti university will enable kids to build a career in security from a very early stage and become soldiers who will protect the country. Also, the Forensic Science University will help in solving crimes by fetching scientific evidence, which can be put forth before the court,” Shah said.
He also announced that several new initiatives in police housing and training of personnel are also in the pipeline and will be announced soon.
The home minister further said the police memorial was built so that the country knows how police function, adding that the memorial must be promoted.
“Many tourists are coming, school children are visiting. The idea is to change how people perceive a policeman or the police force,” Shah said.
“During the lockdown, so many policemen helped the migrant labourers by ensuring they get food, and are taken to the hospital in times of emergencies. They even helped people who were living alone and had no one to look after them. From donating blood to plasma, the police did not shirk from helping anyone. In fact, they stood in the front to fight Covid,” he said. “This needs to be told and projected to the world.”
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