Constables pay with their lives

Sixty-five per cent of police personnel “killed on duty” across the country in the past one year were from the lowest rung - Constables.

Among the states Uttar Pradesh and among the forces, the Border Security Force (BSF) lost the maximum number of personnel, including three Superintendents of Police, during operations, accounting for 47 per cent of such deaths.

A total of 576 personnel were “killed on duty” between September 1, 2012 and August 30 this year, according to a note sent by Intelligence Bureau to state police forces, paramilitary forces, and R&AW earlier this month.

Since 1961, around 32,000 police personnel have sacrificed their lives for security of the nation and service to society.

All these personnel will be honoured on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day on October 21. Commemoration Day is observed every year in memory of CRPF personnel, who were ambushed and killed by Chinese forces in Ladakh region on this day in 1959.

This year’s toll shows a slight increase from 566 recorded between September 2011 and August 2012. The number of personnel killed during 2010-11 was 634 while it was 797 in 2009-10 and 841 in September 2008-August 2009 period.

An analysis of the list of police personnel killed on duty shows that the majority of them were Constables numbering 377, followed by Head Constables at 81.

The highest number of Sub Inspectors losing life during operations was in Uttar Pradesh, where 16 were killed. A total of 48 SIs lost were killed between September last year and August this year.

Uttar Pradesh had a total of 133 casualties, followed by BSF 85 in 2011-12 but this year, both the forces have reduced their casualty though they topped the list.

In Maoist-infested Chhattisgarh, 37 policemen were killed while in Jharkhand, it was 40 and West Bengal 52. CRPF, which is in the forefront of anti-naxal operations, lost 45 personnel this year as against 57 in the previous year.

Karnataka has shown a three-time jump in the number of personnel who lost lives in the line of duty from five during 2011-12 to 17 in 2012-13. The national capital of Delhi had 17 deaths in 2012-13 as against 19 during the previous year.

The list of 576 dead personnel includes the Uttar Pradesh DySP Zia-ul-Haq, whose murder evoked nationwide rage after the name of UP muscleman-politician Raja Bhaiya’s name cropped up in the case. However, CBI cleared his name after Haq's wife named the UP minister, who had to resign but was reinstated recently.

The toll

State             No of Police
                     Personnel Killed*

* UP                     117
* BSF                      55
* West Bengal        52
* CRPF                    45
* Jharkhand            40
* Chhattisgarh        37
* Bihar                    29

Policemen killed cadrewise


* Constables            377
* Head Constables    81
* Assistant Sub         33
    Inspectors
* Sub Inspectors       48
* Inspectors              10

* Between Sept 1, 2012 and Aug 30, 2013