Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced a ‘Shaurya Award’ in the name of 71 martyrs of State police force who laid down their lives during line of duty while protecting society and maintaining law and order in the State.

Facts :

• The Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has announced the Shaurya awards for students in the name of 71 state police martyrs.
• The Shaurya Awards with prize money of Rs 11,000 will be awarded to students in the name of 71 personnel of the state police forces who laid down their lives while protecting society and maintaining law and order in the state.
• The award would be given to a student for courageous deeds every year in a village block where the school is located and where a martyr studied during his childhood.
• The announcements were made by the Chief Minister while addressing the family members of Haryana Police martyrs at while addressing the National Police Memorial in New Delhi.
• The Chief Minister also announced the construction of a state-level police memorial in the state of Haryana and released the book titled ‘Martyrs of Haryana police’.
• The State Government had organised first ever state level function at the National Police Memorial to honour the families of all 71 policemen who made supreme sacrifice of their lives in various attacks and encounters since formation of Haryana in 1966. A Guard of Honour with 116 police personnel was also organised.
• The Chief Minister also said that amount of ex-gratia grant being given to family members of police personnel who die in the line of duty has been enhanced from Rs10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
• Apart from this assistance under government policy, financial aid of Rs 30 lakh is also given under a special agreement of accidental death insurance cover with HDFC bank. So, family of a police martyr gets financial assistance of Rs 60 lakh in total.
• In case of encounter death, a provision of job to one of the dependents of police martyr has also been made by the government.
• The Chief Minister also listed various welfare measures taken for the police personnel in Haryana and said that a financial assistance Rs 550 crore was provided through HUDCO for construction of houses for police personnel.
• Listing the facilities given to dependents of police martyrs, Khattar said that free education up to XII standards is imparted to the wards of the deceased employees in DAV Police Public Schools.

National Police Memorial :

• Renovated and refurbished Police Memorial was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 October 2018 which is also the Police Commemoration Day (Police Martyr's Day) in India.

• The underground museum is the first police museum of its kind in India, and showcases over 2000 years of policing in the region, since the time of Kautilya's system of law and order in 310 BCE.

• National Police Memorial commemorates the 34,844 police personnel from all of the central and state police forces in India who have died in the line of duty since the nation’s Independence in 1947.

• The National Police Memorial commemorates the police personnel whose lives were lost in the fight against terrorism, militancy and insurgency in states such as Punjab, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir and red corridor-affected regions in India.

• The National Police Memorial also hosts the Wall of Valour with names of police personnel engraved on the granite, who died in the line of duty from 1947 to the present day.