Punjab Police has taken the initiative to launch a nationwide tribute to all policemen, doctors and healthcare professionals beginning Monday by saluting its corona warrior sub-inspector Harjeet Singh whose hand was dismembered by a group of criminals on April 12 in Patiala.
The DGP of Punjab, Dinkar Gupta, has written to police chiefs of all states and Union territories to unite and show solidarity with frontline warriors such as policemen and healthcare professionals who have been attacked by people in different parts of the country.
The Punjab police campaign is called #MainBhiHarjeetSingh where the police personnel are being exhorted to replace their own name with Harjeet on their badges .
Each policeman will wear the badge of Harjeet Singh in Punjab even as police personnel in other parts of the country are being exhorted to follow the suit. Simultaneously, a social media campaign is being launched for people to show solidarity with him and other police personnel and healthcare experts in the country who are risking their lives during the epidemic.
''I will wear a badge and call myself Harjeet Singh tomorrow. We all will be Harjeet Singh, because for the society, Harjeet Singh symbolises the two top attributes of a good cop which is not meeting violence with violence or resorting to tit for tat and showing courage in the face of fire,'' Gupta told THE WEEK.
In his letter to the police chiefs across the country, Gupta has said Harjeet has emerged as the symbol of the nation's fight against COVID-19 and its spread.
''Harjeet's episode signals to us all that the frontline warriors need to unite and stand together for each other in a demonstration of solidarity and support to each other. We must also convey a clear message—don't attack policemen, the 'protectors'', and don't harass doctors and heathcare workers, the 'saviours','' said Gupta in his letter.
Police sources said celebrities are also being roped in for the campaign. Cricketer Harbhajan Singh happens to be a DSP in Punjab Police.
The idea is to have celebrities participate in the campaign as their appeal is likely to energise more people to show solidarity with the corona warriors, said the sources.
Police sources said when police teams are under attack, it affects their morale. “We need a simple act that makes the sacrifice inspiring for every police personnel,” said an official explaining the campaign.
The name tag of Harjeet Singh will be worn by putting a sticker on the badge by the police commissioner and all policemen down the line. The police personnel are being asked to upload their pictures on social media once they wear the name tags. At the end of the campaign, the Punjab police is toying with the idea of compiling it all together to make a movie on it.
For now the immediate focus is on the safe return of the warrior from hospital. Officials said that on the day Harjeet Singh gets discharged, the police force will have 21 officers with the Harjeet Singh tag, who will salute him as he walks out of the hospital. Harjeet is likely to be discharged sometime later next week.
Police officials said a team of some of the best surgeons, technicians and nurses from PGI Chandigarh has successfully managed to replant the severed hand of Harjeet Singh after two long surgeries on April 12 and 14.
