566 securitymen killed on duty in one year, says Delhi Police chief

IANS

NEW DELHI AT least 566 personnel of railway, paramilitary and state police were killed on duty in the past one year in the country, an official said in New Deljhi on Sunday.

Delhi Police lost 19 people while Uttar Pradesh lost 133.

“Nineteen (personnel) of Delhi Police were killed while serving their duty,” said Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar during the commemoration day parade organised at Kingsway Camp in New Delhi.

Neeraj Kumar was reading out the list of personnel killed during various operations or attacks on them in the country between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012.

Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 133 deaths of security personnel. Jharkhand was second in the list of casualties with 43, while Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tripura witnessed one death each of their constabulary.

Punjab Police lost 29 securitymen, West Bengal 28, Chhattisgarh 24 and Odhisha 18. In Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, 10 securitymen each were killed during the period.

Manipur mourned the loss of nine personnel while Meghalaya that of eight police personnel.

Karnataka and Uttarakhand suffered five deaths each of their policemen, Maharashtra and Nagaland four each while Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu three each.

Besides, the Border Security Force lost 85 personnel during various operations, while 21 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were killed and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost 57 people during the period.

The causality figures for Railway Protection Force (RPF) were 19, the Special Protection Group (SPG) two and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was five.

The Commemoration Day is observed every year Oct 21 in the memory of 10 personnel of the CRPF, who were ambushed and killed by Chinese force in Ladakh region on October 21, 1959.

Delhi Police constable Naresh Kumar Verma lost his life while chasing a notorious gang in Delhi’s Bharat Nagar area on May 18 this year. The criminals crushed Verma under the wheels of their tempo.

Delhi Police also paid tributes to head constable Yashpal, shot dead by criminals when he tried to prevent them from stealing cows, and head constable Sanjeev Kumar, who died on May 15 of injuries in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district.