PM Modi to unveil National Police Memorial, museum on October 21

NEW DELHI: Around 35,000 police personnel martyred in the line of duty since Independence, most of them unsung, will get their names etched in stone for posterity with the unveiling of the new

national police memorial

on Police Commemoration Day on October 21.


The refurbished national police memorial structure, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will comprise a large granite centrepiece surrounded by multiple plaques, all displaying names of heroes from the central police forces and state police killed in police actions since Independence. These actions may range from fighting ordinary criminals and dacoits to countering terrorists in widely-covered attacks like the 26/11 Mumbai strikes and Parliament attack. The old national police memorial, a mammoth steel structure that ran into controversy for being rather unaesthetic and in violation of Lutyen's Delhi guidelines as it obstructed the view of Rashtrapati Bhawan domes, was pulled down in 2008. The new structure at

Chanakyapuri

is now in consonance with Lutyen's Delhi norms and guidelines that require any structure in the area not to exceed the maximum tree height.


The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the national police museum on Sunday, depicting the history, artefacts, uniform and gear of central and state police forces. The museum, a first of its kind in the country, is located as an underground facility on the premises of the national police memorial.


Spearheaded by the intelligence bureau, the police museum will go back 2,000 years to show visitors how policing has evolved from the times of the Mughals, the British and post-Independent India to the present day. There will also be dedicated installations on the role of women in the forces and one for the animal squad - camels, dogs, pigeons and horses who assist officers in investigations. Youngsters are likely to find the display of weapons used by the forces particularly enthralling, and these will range from pistols to AK 47 and INSAS. "There will also be separate sections on police units under the central ministry, such as CRPF, ITBP, SPG and NSG. Visitors will be told about the two major police training academies in the Northeast and Hyderabad,'' said a source. Among the martyrs whose names will get recorded for posterity at the National Police Memorial are 26/11 heroes including Tukaram Ombale, Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte as well as CRPF constable Kamlesh Kumari killed in the December 2001 attack on Parliament. Another hero commemorated at the memorial is Bhrigu Nandan Choudhary of CRPF’s Cobra battalion whose legs were mutilated in an IED blast triggered by Naxals during an encounter at Gaya, Bihar, in 2012. Undeterred, he crawled to a safe area and kept shooting from there. Six Naxals were killed before Choudhary succumbed to his injuries.


The gallantry displayed by CRPF commandant Pramod Kumar during the 2016 terrorist attack at Nowhatta Chowk, Srinagar, will also see his name etched in stone at the memorial. Ditto for CRPF head constable V Climond Joseph who repulsed an attempt by Maoists to disrupt polling during the 2013 assembly election in Chhattisgarh. A senior intelligence officer said the national police memorial is an apt tribute to police personnel who often die unsung. “While police personnel killed in high-profile terror and insurgent attacks get a mention in the national media, most police personnel who go beyond their call of duty and lay down their lives fighting petty criminals, robbers or dacoits at most make it to the local dailies. With their names now permanently etched at the new police memorial, the nation can now know of their supreme sacrifice. This will also encourage other police personnel to fight valiantly to safeguard national security,” stated the officer.