A salute to the tigers who gave their today for our tomorrow
Though these brave officers were assassinated, the lamp they lit is still glowing and will continue to inspire police heroes. The spirit of these two slain IPS officers is all pervasive in the security fabric of our country. Many state governments and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are adopting their techniques of guerilla warfare
Every October 21, I get a bit sentimental while recalling the ill-fated October 21, 1959, massacre, when 10 valiant policemen, led by SI Karam Singh, fighting at a 16,000 feet altitude, lost their lives in an ambush laid by heavily armed Chinese troops at Hot Springs Ladakh. October 21st is observed in commemoration of these martyrs and that of all other police personnel killed on duty.
This year I was even more pensive as it took me several days to overcome the anguish as the day came exactly 24 hours after Diwali. In that context, the celebration was sub-consciously low on enthusiasm.
The National Police Memorial (a 30 feet high granite monolith Cenotaph) in New Delhi gives police forces a sense of national identity, pride, unity of purpose, common history and destiny, besides reinforcing their commitment to protect the nation even at the cost of their lives. The memorial is a pilgrimage site, a place of reverence for the police personnel, the martyrs’ families and citizens alike.
Nearer home, we must not only pay homage to all personnel, who were martyred in the line of duty across the two Telugu states, but also salute the two ferocious tigers, K S Vyas and C Umesh Chandra, who laid down their lives while wiping out the Naxal menace from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The Tigers’ roar rattled and paralysed the enemy and were martyred in the line of duty.
We should remember their sacrifices every day of the year.
Grey Hounds is a special forces unit of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana police departments. They specialise in counter–insurgency operations against Naxalite and Maoist terrorists. Several Indian paramilitary and police officers rank greyhounds among the best anti-insurgency forces that also excels in jungle warfare. Greyhounds do not require prior permission to conduct operations outside their legal jurisdiction. All its commandos are under the age of 35 years in keeping with the 24x7 requirement of agility, strength and stamina. They trek 20 to 30 kms of hostile terrain for a single operation, subsisting on dry fruits.
Vyas with his uncanny vision, conceived and raised a guerilla outfit of the police, aptly christened Grey Hounds in 1989. Andhra Pradesh was a Maoist hot bed for a considerable time, but the presence of GreyHounds supported by informers at the village level, foiled many such terror bids. They also gunned down or arrested top leaders of the cadre. Vyas, in effect, was the first director of GreyHounds. He became the top target on the Marxist people’s war hit list. As they feared that his existence was a threat to extremist activities, he was assassinated at gunpoint on January 27, 1993, while taking an evening jog at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad.
Commencing his career as ASP in Vizag and Gudur in Nellore district, he acquitted himself to the admiration and adulation of one and all as SP of Nizamabad, Nalgonda and Vijayawada and as chief of traffic of Hyderabad city police. Vyas Nagar in Narsingi was named after him to honor his service and sacrifice to the state. His name was proposed by the local people.
The 33-year-old Umesh Chandra was assassinated on September 4, when his car stopped at the traffic signal. Four naxalites opened fire on him, his driver and his gunman, who died instantaneously. As fate would have it, Chandra did not carry his weapon on that day. However, his love for his duty and country was so overpowering that he did not think of his safety even for a second, while chasing the naxalites.
Sensing that he was unharmed, the extremists shot him twice and the Kadapa tiger collapsed at Sanjeeva Reddy
Nagar crossing in Ameerpet, Hyderabad. A statue now stands in memory of the exceptionally brave police officer. Umesh Chandra was the most respected and loved police officer of united Andhra Pradesh.
As SP of the then Cuddapah district, which was considered as the most troublesome district in India, he was severe on anti-social elements and caused shivers in the spines of naxalites and factionists by showing them, time and again, what police are capable of. He restored normalcy within no time with his extraordinary abilities. He raised the standard of policing and administration that his fellow officers were to emulate. He provided strict but fair administration. He planned and led all counter-terrorist operations himself. He was an exemplary police officer who maintained a very high degree of honesty, integrity and professionalism.
Though these brave officers were assassinated, the lamp they lit is still glowing and will continue to inspire police heroes. The spirit of these two slain IPS officers is all pervasive in the security fabric of our country. Many state governments and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are adopting their techniques of guerilla warfare and imparting training to their respective forces as an antidote to terrorism. As the spectrum of terrorism looms large and as panic threatens to grip the human being in the street, let us remember those who are not with us and sacrificed their tomorrow for our today.
