NEW DELHI: The police are presented in a negative light in the media which needs to be changed, asserted Union Home Minister Amit Shah after inaugurating the Delhi Police’s new headquarters on Thursday.
“Such kind of negative projection demoralises our police force. This image needs to change,” he said, stressing his point on the projection of the police in a certain light by the press and in films.
Shah added that a reformed police force can be achieved by changing the manner of policing and that the police need to be proactive towards redressing the grievances. “Only then will the public image get better,” he argued.
The government is working under the vision of PM Narendra Modi to correct this situation, he said, adding that the National Police Memorial that chronicles the sacrifices of over 34,000 officers and soldiers who laid down their lives for the country, was developed by the central government.
On this occasion, Shah paid tribute to the Delhi Police personnel, who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack.
Congratulating the Delhi Police for its new headquarters, Shah said, “Finally, after 70 years, they got their own home.”
The new police headquarters on Jai Singh Road was built in a public-private partnership mode at a cost of Rs 286 crore. Spread over an area of about eight acres, the new police headquarters will operate from a 17-floor building replete with control rooms, conference rooms, and a control and communication centre.
Earlier, the Delhi Police had its headquarters on ITO Marg. The first Delhi Police headquarters came up in 1912 during the British era at Kashmere Gate. After India attained Independence, the headquarters was shifted to the PWD Building on ITO Marg in 1970s.
“In order to make it (the new head office) environment-friendly, fly ash bricks and AAC blocks using adhesive compound were used to avoid use of fertile soil and water as required for conventional mortar and curing,” the Delhi Police said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police Special Cell will get the Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal for 2019 for thwarting a terror strike by Jaish-e-Mohammad by arresting its two members who were planning an attack in the national capital