CHANDIGARH: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, has announced the names of Punjab Police officers and officials selected for the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM) and Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) on the eve of the 80th Independence Day.

Inspector Baljit Singh, Incharge of CIA Barnala, has been selected for the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, recognising his distinguished contribution to policing.

The Medal for Meritorious Service has been awarded to 11 Punjab Police personnel, including two IPS officers — IGP Intelligence (Admin) Babu Lal Meena and IGP Provisioning Dr S Boopathi.

Six PPS officers selected for the honour are SP PBI Sangrur Navreet Singh Virk, DSP Headquarters Sangrur Karnail Singh, DSP Security Subhash Chand, DSP CID Unit Amritsar Sanjeev Kumar, ACP North Amritsar Gagandeep Singh and DSP Jahan Khelan Jasvir Singh.

The other awardees include Inspector Rashpal Singh, Inspector Nirmal Singh and ASI Nirmal Singh.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav congratulated all the awardees and expressed gratitude to the Central and State governments for recognising their services.

Terming the honours a proud recognition of the officials’ dedication, professionalism and exemplary service, Yadav said their achievement would inspire the entire Punjab Police force to maintain the highest standards of duty and continue serving the people with commitment and distinction.

The DGP also underlined the importance of such recognition in motivating police personnel to perform with greater dedication, particularly in Punjab, a border state facing multiple security challenges.