154 police personnel martyred in last year, Amit Shah pays tribute at National Police Memorial
New Delhi, October 21, 2026: India observed Police Commemoration Day on Wednesday with tributes at the National Police Memorial in Chanakyapuri, where Intelligence Bureau Director Dr Mahesh Dixit said 154 police personnel had died in the line of duty over the past year. With those names added this year, the total number of police martyrs since Independence has risen to 36,852.
The main national ceremony brought together personnel from multiple central forces in a joint commemorative parade. The participating formations included the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), National Security Guard (NSG), Assam Rifles, Railway Protection Force (RPF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Delhi Police. Dr Dixit read out the names of the 154 fallen personnel so that the assembled officers and dignitaries could pay their respects.
Speaking at the event, Dr Dixit recalled the origins of the observance. He said that on October 21, 1959, ten CRPF personnel led by Karam Singh, DCIO of the Intelligence Bureau, lost their lives while confronting an armed Chinese military contingent along the India-China border at Hot Springs in Ladakh. Since then, October 21 has been marked every year as Police Commemoration Day. He added that since Independence, 36,852 personnel have made the supreme sacrifice while serving the nation, protecting its unity and integrity, and ensuring the safety of citizens.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who attended as chief guest, paid homage to the fallen personnel and described the National Police Memorial as a place of pilgrimage. He said the memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 and was intended to inspire future generations of police personnel to remain alert in their duties and ready to make the supreme sacrifice if required. Shah noted that 154 new names had been added to the Wall of Valour this year and offered his salutations to the martyrs.
Shah also thanked personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed on the borders and across the country, highlighting their work in internal security, elections and other democratic processes. He specifically praised CAPF personnel for conducting the West Bengal Assembly elections without any loss of life, describing it as a new benchmark in a state long associated with election-related violence.
Prime Minister Modi also remembered the police personnel who have died in the line of duty. In a social media post, he said Police Commemoration Day was an occasion to express deep gratitude to the police force, which serves with remarkable commitment in difficult circumstances ranging from law and order duties to crime control and emergency response. He said the sacrifices of these personnel would remain etched in the nation’s memory.
Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on October 21 through programmes held in state capitals, districts and police stations across the country. The National Police Memorial, inaugurated on October 21, 2018, includes a 30-foot black granite central sculpture or cenotaph, the Wall of Valour engraved with the names of martyrs, and an underground museum documenting the history of policing in India.
Further commemorative events will be held at the memorial from October 22 to 30, including participation by families of the fallen. These events will be organised by the CAPFs in line with recommendations from the 2019 Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police.
The observance is intended as a national reminder of the continuing sacrifices made by police forces, both state and central, in safeguarding citizens and protecting the country’s integrity.
