Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has played a key role in maintaining the unity and integrity of the nation.
This force has a glorious past, praise-worthy present and a future filled with hope and service, Naidu said at the Passing out Parade of the 50th Batch of the Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers (DAGOs) of CRPF in the premises of the CRPF Academy, Gurugram.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal was also present on the occasion.
The Vice President said, CRPF personnel have always won the faith and confidence of the people wherever they have been deployed.
He said CRPF has played a significant role right from the days of unification of the country to successfully tackling separatism in the North east and terrorism in Punjab.
Appreciating the Civic Action Programmes of CRPF, the Vice President said that such programmes increase the acceptability of the police among the public.
He called upon the force personnel to upgrade their professional efficiency in view of the newer challenges arising out of cyber technology.
He also called upon the government and the authorities to give attention to the facilities being provided to the personnel of the force, especially those who are posted in difficult and inaccessible areas and also to take special care of the health and educational needs of the families of the force personnel.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Director General, CRPF Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, said that CRPF is the world’s largest armed police force and is the lead force in tackling the issues of internal security of the country.
Underlining 78 years of glorious history of the force, Bhatnagar said that the force personnel have always exhibits the highest standards of valour and sacrifice.
He said last year only CRPF personnel have been awarded as many as 135 Gallantry medals including seven Shaurya Chakras, which is a record in itself.
He added that the force has constantly been upgrading itself tactically to effectively meet new challenges.
On the occasion, the chief guest presented gallantry medals to the awardees and trophies to the trainee officers. Those who were honoured included 18 officers/personnel, who received Police Medals for Gallantry. Similarly, trainee officers like Nishant Yadav (all round best trainee), Gyanendra Giri (best in outdoor subjects), Banai Singh Meena (best in physical training) and Ujwal Kumar Tiwari (best firer) received trophies from the Vice President.
With their passing out on Sunday, the officers will undergo specialized counter insurgency training before being posted in different parts of the country.
Earlier, the chief guest, accompanied by Bhatnagar inspected the parade and took salute in the colourful march past.
As many as 48 trainee officers including 4 lady officers,11 post-graduates and as many as 37 engineering graduates passed out from the academy, after undergoing a rigorous training regime spanning 52 weeks. Like the previous batches of the DAGOs of CRPF, the 50th Batch too bears a pan-Indian character with the trainee officers representing as many as 16 states of the country having different socio-educational background.