Welfare of police personnel is central govt's top priority: Amit Shah

New Delhi [India], Oct 21 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday paid tribute to police personnel, who lost their lives in the line of duty and said that the welfare of police forces and their families is the top priority of the central government.

"I want to ensure all police forces that this government has made many plans for police welfare. I will not share the details but I would like to say that your health concern, your family concern, your house concern or atmosphere of work is our government's topmost priority," Shah said addressing the Police Commemoration Day Parade at National Police Memorial in New Delhi.

The Home Minister lauded the paramilitary forces. He especially hailed CRPF personnel fighting the menace of Naxalism and communal violence.

He also appreciated the National Security Guard (NSG) saying, "NSG is well prepared to face any kind of challenges posed in front of us."

Shah accepted that he understood the problem of understaffing in the police department across the country.

"Today we have 144 police personnel per 1 lakh people, while ideally, the ratio should be 222 police personnel per lakh citizens. Due to this, 90 per cent of the policemen work for more than 12 hours and more than three-fourth of the policemen are not able to take weekly holidays," Shah said.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid obeisance to the slain police personnel at the National Police Memorial here on the occasion of Police Commemoration Day.

The Police Commemoration Day is observed every year on October 21 in memory of the CRPF personnel who made the supreme sacrifice at Hot Springs in Ladakh while fighting Chinese troops on this day in 1959.