Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah addressed the Police Commemoration Day ceremony at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi on October 21, 2026, paying tribute to police personnel who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. The event was attended by Members of Parliament Krishna Prasad Tenneti and Rajiv Kumar, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Intelligence Bureau Director Mahesh Dixit, ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Kapoor, and other senior CAPF officials.
Shah announced a significant national target to eliminate the drug menace in India by December 31, 2029, through a concerted fight against drugs over the remaining part of 2026 and the next three years. He emphasized that drug abuse undermines future generations, burdens the economy, and funds anti-national organizations. The Home Minister called upon all police forces to implement the 'Nasha Mukt Bharat' roadmap prepared under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
In a major security announcement, Shah declared that India achieved freedom from Naxalism on March 31, 2026, after decades of conflict that claimed 3,600 security personnel and 13,700 civilian lives since 1981. He credited CRPF and its CoBRA Battalion along with Chhattisgarh Police for this achievement. The Home Minister also noted that peace has been established in all three major internal security hotspots—Kashmir, North-East, and Left-Wing Extremism affected areas—which are now on the path to development.
Shah highlighted the CAPF's success in eliminating electoral violence, particularly noting that recent West Bengal Assembly elections were conducted without a single fatality, setting a new benchmark. He emphasized that police personnel are the first and last line of defence for internal security, working through festivals and elections without holidays.
The Home Minister flagged off a nationwide motorcycle rally with approximately 90 riders from various states and union territories (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi), Central Armed Police Forces (CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP, and NSG), and central police organizations (RPF, NDRF, and NIA). The rally carries the 'Fight Against Drugs' message and will culminate at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat for the Ekta Parade-2026.
The National Police Memorial, inaugurated in 2018 by Prime Minister Modi, honors 36,852 police personnel who have sacrificed their lives since independence and has become a place of reverence for citizens across the country. The event commemorated the October 21, 1959 Hot Springs incident where 10 CRPF personnel sacrificed their lives resisting Chinese troops in Ladakh.