No police officer from Haryana will receive a gallantry award on 78th Independence Day. Earlier, the Haryana government had recommended six police officers citing their role in restricting the protesting farmers from marching from the Shambhu border to New Delhi.
However, the Centre rejected all six submissions from the state government. The Centre has rejected the names citing “delayed submission”.
The Haryana government had submitted the names of Ambala Range Inspector-General of Police Sibash Kabiraj, then Superintendent of Police (Kurukshetra) Jashandeep Singh Randhawa and Superintendent of Police Sumit Kumar, and Deputy Superintendents of Police Narendra Kumar, Ramkumar and Amit Bhatia.
On the eve of Independence Day, the Centre announced 1,037 service medals for personnel of central and state police forces, including 208 medals for gallantry.
While seven police officers from Punjab will receive the medals, including two President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service, on Thursday, no police officer from Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh is on the list.
Among those who will be awarded the gallantry medals are Punjab Assistant Inspector-General of Police Sandeep Goyal, Deputy Superintendents of Police Bikramjit Singh Brar and Rajan Parminder Singh, Inspector Pushwinder Singh, Sub-Inspectors Jaspreet Singh and Gurpreet Singh and Constable Sukhraj Singh.
On July 2, the Haryana government’s notification making this recommendation was challenged by advocates’ group Lawyers for Humanity, however the Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of the petition after the Union government said it was yet to announce these officers’ names for gallantry awards.
