Govt withdraws gallantry medals given to three cops

NEW DELHI: Gallantry medals given to three policemen have been withdrawn after they were found to be involved in corruption and other cases, a Union home ministry official said today.

The three men are Dharmendra Choudhary, former Madhya Pradesh additional superintendent of police (ASP), Punjab Police sub-inspector Gurmeet Singh and Jharkhand Police sub- inspector Lalit Kumar.

While Choudhary's Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG) was withdrawn in September, Lalit Kumar's was taken away in June and Gurmeet Singh's in May, an official said.

The medal given to Choudhary, who was promoted to Indian Police Service from state police service, was withdrawn for allegedly orchestrating a fake encounter, he said.

Choudhary was posted in Jhabua as ASP in 2002 when he gunned down a criminal wanted by police in the encounter.

Choudhary received a gallantry medal from then president APJ Abdul Kalam for killing the wanted criminal.

However, an investigation was ordered by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to look into the encounter following a complaint. It was later found that the encounter was fake, the official said, without divulging further information.

Gurmeet Singh was given the medal in 1997 on a proposal submitted by the state government for his bravery during service.

He was convicted in a murder case and given life imprisonment in 2006. He was later dismissed from service.