At least 385 police personnel from different states, central paramilitary forces and central police organisations were killed this year, Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Rajiv Jain said yesterday.
Of those killed in the line of duty from September 2016 to August 2017, 56 from the Border Security Force and 42 from the Jammu and Kashmir police, Jain said on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day.
The day is observed every year on October 21 to commemorate the 10 police personnel killed in Hot Springs in Ladakh in 1959 by Chinese troops and 34,400 others who laid down their lives protecting India’s unity and integrity.
Among the police personnel, 76 were from Uttar Pradesh, 49 from the Central Reserve Police Force, 23 from Chhattisgarh, 16 from West Bengal, 13 each belonged to Delhi police and the Central Industrial Security Force, 12 each were from Bihar and Karnataka police and 11 from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
A majority of the police personnel died while dealing with cross-border firing from Pakistan, fighting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, Maoists and other law and order duties, a Home Ministry statement said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for H R D Satyapal Singh attended the event held at the National Police Memorial here.
Since Independence, 34,418 police personnel have sacrificed their lives safeguarding the integrity of the nation and providing security to people of this country, the statement added.
Relatives of slain Punjab police personnel attend an event to mark Police Commemoration Day at a police station on the outskirts of Amritsar yesterday.
