Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday paid homage to police martyrs at the National Police Memorial in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, on Police Commemoration Day and said their sacrifice built the foundation for a naxalism-free India, IANS reported. 'Today, we have gathered here to pay tribute to the brave police personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation from Independence to the present day,' Shah said at the ceremony, according to IANS.

Shah said 2026 was a particularly significant year for the Indian Police, noting that, in his words, the country was freed from Naxalism on March 31 after decades of violence. From 1981 until March 2026, he said, more than 3,600 security personnel were martyred and nearly 13,700 innocent civilians were killed because of Naxalism. He told the families of the fallen that the country's progress after overcoming the decades-old problem rests on that sacrifice. Shah also recalled that the memorial honours 36,852 police personnel, with 154 more names added this year — figures also given by Intelligence Bureau Director Mahesh Dixit at the ceremony, who said 154 personnel had laid down their lives in the line of duty over the past year, according to reports of his remarks.

Earlier in the day, Shah flagged off a nationwide motorcycle rally from the memorial under the theme 'Fight Against Drugs', ANI reported. The rally comprises around 90 riders representing nine States and Union Territories, alongside personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organisations, and will culminate at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat for the Ekta Parade on October 31, observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. According to the Home Ministry statement reported by IANS, the riders come from Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, and from forces including the CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and NSG. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute on X, saying Police Commemoration Day is 'an occasion to express our deepest gratitude to our police personnel, who serve with remarkable commitment, often in the most challenging circumstances,' IANS reported.

Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on October 21 in memory of 10 CRPF personnel killed in an ambush by Chinese troops at Hot Springs in Ladakh on October 21, 1959, ANI noted. The National Police Memorial, where the main ceremony is held with a joint parade of the CAPFs and Delhi Police, was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Modi in 2018. Commemorative events will continue at the memorial from October 22 to 30, including visits by martyrs' families, police band displays, a Run for Martyrs, blood donation camps and essay and painting competitions for children, according to the Home Ministry statement reported by IANS. Shah also praised the CAPFs for ensuring the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections were completed without a single death, IANS reported. Sources: IANS, ANI, Home Ministry statement.