Republic Day 2024: 1,132 Police Personnel Receive Gallantry and Service Medals
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Jan. Over 1,000 police personnel have been honored with various categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the 75th Republic Day, a government statement said on Thursday. This includes 277 gallantry medals.
The Union home ministry’s statement announced that a total of 1,132 personnel from the police, fire service, home guard and civil defense, and correctional service have been recognized with gallantry and service medals on Republic Day 2024, following the recent restructuring of the medal system.
The medals are now classified as the President’s Medal for Gallantry (PMG), Medal for Gallantry (GM), President’s Medals for Distinguished Service (PSM), and Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM).
Out of the 277 gallantry awards, 119 have been given to personnel deployed in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism, while 133 have been awarded to personnel from the Jammu & Kashmir region.
Two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, Head Constables Sanwala Ram Vishnoi and Shishu Pal Singh, have been posthumously honored with the top category PMG for their exceptional contribution to peacekeeping as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). They were members of the 15th Congo Contingent of BSF at the Moroccan Rapid Deployment Battalion (MORRDB) camp in Butembo. They lost their lives in the line of duty in Congo in July 2022.
The PMG and GM medals are awarded for acts of gallantry in saving lives and property, preventing crime, or apprehending criminals. The level of risk involved is assessed based on the officer’s obligations and duties, with PMG being awarded for rare conspicuous acts of gallantry and GM for conspicuous acts of gallantry, as stated in the statement.
The highest number of gallantry medals has been awarded to Jammu and Kashmir police personnel with 72 recipients, followed by 65 for Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops, 18 for Maharashtra, 26 for Chhattisgarh, 23 for Jharkhand, 15 for Odisha, 8 for Delhi Police, and 21 for Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel.
