383 policemen martyred last year
56 were BSF members, 42 from J&K, says IB director.
New Delhi: As many as 383 police personnel, including 56 belonging to the BSF and 42 from Jammu and Kashmir, have laid down their lives in the line of duty in last one year, director of Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain said on Saturday.
Most of the police personnel died while dealing with cross-border firing from Pakistan, fighting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, Naxalism and other law and order duties.
Addressing the Police Commemoration Day, where home minister Rajnath Singh led the nation in paying tribute to martyrs of police forces, Mr Jain said the 383 police personnel were killed while performing various duties across the country from September 2016 to August 2017.
Among these slain police personnel, 76 belonged to the Uttar Pradesh Police, 56 belonged to the BSF, 49 were from the CRPF, 42 from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, 23 belonged to Chhattisgarh, 16 were from West Bengal, 13 each belonged to Delhi and the CISF, 12 each were from Bihar and Karnataka and 11 from the ITBP.
Police Commemoration Day is observed to pay homage to 10 policemen killed in firing by Chinese troops in 1959 and 34,400 others who laid down their lives protecting India’s unity and integrity.
Observed as ‘Police Commemoration Day’, October 21 commemorates the sacrifices of the 10 policemen while defending India’s borders with China in 1959, a statement issued by the home ministry said.