R-Day Honours: UP Police bag90 medals for gallantry & service

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police brought national recognition to the state by securing a total of 90 police medals, including 18 President's Medals for Gallantry, 4 President's Medals for Distinguished Service, and 68 Medals for Meritorious Service, announced on the eve of Republic Day 2026. Senior police officials said the honours reflected the force's sustained crackdown on organised crime, successful high-risk encounters, and exemplary policing across the state.According to the official citation, on August 7, 2024, an STF team led by Rakesh, additional superintendent of police (ASP), STF Field Unit Agra; Dharmesh Kumar Shahi, deputy superintendent of police, STF Lucknow; inspector Satya Prakash Singh; and sub-inspector Yashwant Singh engaged in a daring encounter in the Farah police station area of Mathura. During the operation, Pankaj Yadav, a wanted criminal carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh, was injured. He later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Pankaj Yadav had 39 criminal cases registered against him across police stations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Similarly, on March 21, 2022, an STF team comprising personnel from the Gorakhpur and Varanasi field units confronted Manoj Singh alias Sonu Singh, a criminal carrying a reward of ₹2 lakh, in the Lohata police station area of rural Varanasi. Manoj Singh was injured in the encounter and later declared dead by doctors. He had 36 serious criminal cases registered against him in various districts of Uttar Pradesh. Officers involved included ASP Vinod Kumar Singh, inspector Amit Srivastava, and head constables Baijnath and Manoj Singh from the Varanasi unit.In another major operation on September 23, 2024, an STF team neutralised Anuj Pratap Singh, a criminal carrying a reward of ₹1 lakh, during an encounter in the Achalganj police station area of Unnao. Anuj Pratap Singh later died during treatment. He was wanted in 4 serious criminal cases registered in Uttar Pradesh and Surat district of Gujarat. Key officers involved included inspector Santosh Kumar Singh, SI Saurabh Mishra, and head constable Kavindra Sahni, all STF personnel from the Lucknow unit.In another operation, on June 27, 2023, in the Manjhanpur police station area of Kaushambi, an STF team led by SIs Atul Chaturvedi, Pradeep Kumar Singh, and head constable Sushil Kumar Singh, all posted with the STF, Lucknow, gunned down Gufran, a criminal carrying a reward of ₹1.25 lakh. He had 15 serious criminal cases registered against him across different districts of UP.In another similar encounter in Saharanpur on March 16, 2020, 4 police personnel were honoured for eliminating Abad, a dreaded criminal carrying a ₹50,000 reward. Despite intense firing that injured officers and damaged bulletproof jackets, the police team overpowered him. He was named in over 20 cases. The gallantry medals were awarded to then deputy SP Rajanish Kumar Upadhyay, SIs Jarrar Hussain, Sunil Singh, and constable Kunal Malik (all posted in different districts of the state police).Apart from the gallantry awards, 4 officers received the President's Medal for distinguished service, while 68 personnel were honoured with the Medal for Meritorious Service, officials said.For meritorious services, inspector generals Akash Kulhary and Amit Pathak, commandants Niharika Sharma, and Sarvesh Kumar Mishra, along with 64 others, were listed for official recognition, reflecting their senior rank, leadership roles, and distinguished service in maintaining law and order in the state.
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