Guwahati: Assam on Wednesday observed Police Commemoration Day, paying tribute to six police personnel who died in the line of duty over the past year.
The commemoration was held at the 10th Battalion headquarters of Assam Police in Kahilipara, Guwahati. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid a wreath at the martyrs’ altar to honour the fallen personnel. A commemorative parade was also held at the headquarters.
Addressing the gathering, Sarma said 156 police personnel across India had lost their lives in the line of duty over the past year.
“Assam Police lost six officials and jawans in the last one year during duty. Today, we commemorate and remember those six personnel. Since Independence, Assam Police have lost more than 900 personnel,” the chief minister said.
He also expressed gratitude to the families of police personnel who had died while serving the country.
Police Commemoration Day is observed annually on October 21 in memory of 10 police personnel killed in an ambush by heavily armed Chinese troops at Hot Springs in Ladakh in 1959.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking at a commemoration programme in New Delhi, said the Northeast had moved towards peace following several agreements and the laying down of arms by thousands of people.
Shah said the agreements had helped create an atmosphere conducive to development in the region. He also commended police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel for their contributions to internal security, particularly praising the CAPF and the CoBRA Battalion for their role in tackling Left-wing extremism.