Referring to the 72 gallantry medals announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the Jammu and Kashmir Police, State Director-General of Police R.R. Swain on Thursday said the awards are a recognition of their contribution to the country.
“This recognition, as I learned from the Ministry website, makes us the highest gallantry medal winners among State police forces,” DGP Swain said.
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The DGP complimented all the officers and personnel for the awards. He said the J&K Police lost more than 1,600 personnel in the Pakistan-sponsored proxy war in the past 33 years.
“Losing 1,600 personnel is actually a benchmark and watermark in terms of demonstrating the commitment to national security. Besides loss of life, many suffered injuries, displacement, and various forms of vilification and intimidation in the line of duty”, the DGP said.
The DGP stressed the need to chronicle stories in the fight against terror “to recognise the contributions and challenges faced by those involved in the national security effort in J&K”.
Security tightened
Meanwhile, security was tightened across J&K on Thursday ahead of the Republic Day, especially in the Poonch-Rajouri district that has witnessed frequent attacks in the past one year.
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Officials said checkpoints were set up across the Rajouri-Poonch belt to thwart any movement of militants. Security was also heightened in Srinagar where frisking and searching were conducted.
“All security measures are in place. Meetings have been conducted at various levels, including discussions with the Army, CAPF [Central Armed Police Forces] led by CRPF, and other intelligence agencies,” Mr. Swain said.
He said the security of the venues of Republic Day celebrations and all potential threat scenarios were discussed. “We assure that the celebration will be peaceful. We encourage citizens to celebrate it with full fervour,” he said.
