Chandigarh: As a goodwill gesture, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who had served as an Army captain during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Friday gave a double promotion to decorated Kargil war hero Satpal Singh, who has been managing traffic as a senior constable in the state police.
Satpal Singh is a Vir Chakra awardee who served in the former battalion of the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister lamented that Satpal Singh had to suffer the ignominy of working as a senior constable as the then SAD-BJP government in the state failed to give due recognition to his credentials, an official spokesperson said.
He said he found out about the situation of Satpal Singh when he read about it Friday morning and decided to immediately correct the wrong.
The spokesperson said Satpal Singh, who joined Punjab Police in 2010 after his discharge from the Army, has been awarded a double promotion to the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) following direct orders from the Chief Minister.
As a special case, Satpal will be promoted to the new post in relaxation of Rule 12.3 of Punjab Police Rules by the Director General of Police (DGP).
The Chief Minister has also authorised the DGP to grant the required relaxation in age for the promotion.
Satpal Singh was posted in Drass sector during Operation Vijay. He was part of a team that helped to capture Tiger Hill. Satpal killed Pakistani army Capt Karnal Sher Khan and three others in the fighting.
Amarinder Singh had served in the second battalion of the Sikh Regiment from 1963 to 1969. Though he left the Army briefly in between to take over his family responsibilities, his love for the Army brought him back when the India-Pakistan war broke out in 1965.
Amarinder Singh’s father, Lt. General Maharaja Yadavinder Singh, had also served in the Sikh regiment in 1935. Even his grandfather, Major General Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, was the Colonel of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs from 1918-1922 and then of the 2/11 Royal Sikhs from 1922-1938.
IANS