A celebration dinner was held in the honour of former Northumbria Police chief constable Winton Keenan, who recently retired.
Dr Hari Shukla and his son Nitin arranged the special evening of tribute and thanks on behalf of the Ethnic Minority Communities of Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.
The event, held at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, brought together leaders from the North East’s business, arts and culture, emergency services and academic spheres to recognise the contribution made by the outgoing police chief, who gave a rousing speech thanking the city.
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Dr Shukla has dedicated his career to race relations campaigning in the city, and the event united representatives from across Newcastle’s community groups over a meal which showcased our multicultural heritage, with locally sourced ingredients brought together into a menu of Asian-inspired dishes prepared by Kam and Nedhi Chera from Funky Indianwali.
The evening was made possible by generous support from sponsors including Promila and Varsha Sehgal, Meenu Malhotra, Ammar Mirza and Louise Cannell-Mirza, Jimmy Tsang, Mahtab Mia, Milan Shukla and Ahmed Khan.
Mr Keenan spent his 38-year policing career with Northumbria Police and was thanked at the event for serving the force area’s communities with dedication and distinction. Tributes paid throughout the evening focused on the message that his leadership has been instrumental in ensuring Newcastle has cohesive communities which demonstrate the North East region’s core strength of unity, friendliness and inclusivity. It was clear from the contributions made by guests throughout the night that the retiring senior officer is held in high esteem by the city’s ethnic minority communities.
Nitin Shukla, Programme Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, organised the event with his father. He noted that the dinner was also an opportunity to celebrate Mr Keenan’s award of the Queen’s Medal for Policing in 2021, an achievement which had not been properly celebrated in person due to the pandemic.
Dr Hari Shukla said: “We felt very proud to be part of a special region whose communities were so generous and thoughtful to recognise Winton's incredible dedication to public service.
“It was a memorable evening and a heartwarming occasion to pay tribute to Winton for his contribution to Northumbria Police and to the people he served with great dignity, humility and fairness.”
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