Punjab police launches campaign to show solidarity with colleague whose hand was chopped

All police personnel in Punjab will on Monday wear badges with the name of their colleague Harjeet Singh, whose left hand was chopped off in an attack when he was trying to impose lockdown restrictions in the state, to show solidarity with him and others working on the frontline amid difficult circumstances to control the spread of COVID-19. The day-long campaign is called 'MainBhiHarjeetSingh'.

"Let's show everyone that any attack on policemen & doctors fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines, like SI Harjeet Singh, will unite India together as one. In solidarity with SI Harjeet & all warriors, I urge you all to wear his name proudly on your chests today," Director General of Police Dinkar Gupta tweeted on Monday.

Under this campaign, all personnel of Punjab police will have Harjeet Singh's name instead of their own names on the badges they pin up to their uniforms, a police official said. Ordinary people can also participate in this campaign by writing 'MainBhiHarjeetSingh' on a placard and posting it on social media, the official said. Harjeet Singh's hand was chopped off with a sword when a group of men had attacked police officials after being asked to show curfew passes at a vegetable market in Patiala on April 12.

Doctors had reattached his hand in a surgery. The 50-year-old Sun Inspector is recovering at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) hospital here. Singh, then Assistant Sun Inspector, was later promoted to Sub-Inspector in recognition of his exemplary courage.