Sacrifices of Police Personnel remembered on Martyrs’ Day
Pics by Prasanna Kodavoor
Udupi: The Police Martyrs’ Day was observed at the Chandu Maidan here on Saturday, October 21 to commemorate the sacrifices of the police personnel who lost their lives on duty.
Priyanka Mary Francis, deputy commissioner of Udupi district and the chief guest of the day, paid tribute to the police martyrs.
Dr Sanjeev Patil Superintendent of Police Udupi, said that Martyrs’ day marks the attack by Chinese forces on a police team patrolling at high altitude of 4,681 meters above sea level adjoining the Indo-China border on October 21, 1959.
Though armed only with rifles, ten policemen were killed and nine captured by the Chinese troops. Since then, the day marks the sacrifices of the police personnel in the country.
A total of 370 personnel have lost their lives while on duty from July 2016 to August 2017, he said.
Speaking on the occasion Priyanka Mary Francis said that coordination among different departments while discharging administrative duties is essential for the hassle-free administration.
Escaping responsibilities by the departments will not yield better governance. There is a need to change the mindset of the officials and it is necessary to work in coordination with each other, she added.
She said the police department is not the only department responsible for the happenings in the society. The pressure on the police is immense as the public approach them for all reasons from potholes on the road to family problems.
A country, like the US, offers helplines, but in India it is difficult. The work burden should be judiciously shared by all the stakeholders in the administration including the district administration.
She added that police are suffering from the complicated problems of maintaining law and order. Hence there is a need for separate division of the law and order maintenance and detection of crimes.
Lamenting the death of police personnel owing to insufficient protection, the DC added that the society should support police personnel in the combat operations.
“Police people die because weapons are insufficiently provided. Hence the death of policemen are increasing. She called for women-friendly policing and urged the police personnel to be compassionate while attending to the women complainants. She said the women who come to police station should be treated with respect.
Additional SP Kumarchandra, DySP Karkala Rishikesh Sonavane, DySP Udupi Kumaraswamy and others were present.
