The Times of India reports:
According to sources, there has been hectic lobbying over the past few weeks by some senior police officers keen to get a medal for 26/11. An additional commissioner of police attached to the Anti-Terrorism Squad and a zonal deputy police commissioner have managed to get recommendations for the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG), the sources say.
The deputy commissioner has been claiming to be responsible for engaging the terrorists at The Taj till NSG commandos arrived. The additional commissioner, who claimed to be part of the team that was at The Oberoi, reportedly exchanged fire with the terrorists.
However, an IPS officer who fired at the terrorists has refused any award, saying that it was part of his duty and that his contribution didn’t deserve a gallantry medal.
The emphasis is mine—I like that last guy’s attitude. And really, instead of gallantry medals, wouldn’t those cops have been better served if they’d been given better training and better equipment to begin with?
While on the subject of equipment, check out this piece about “a group of young businessmen have raised Rs 30 lakh to buy 100 bulletproof vests that they plan to buy and donate to the Mumbai police.” They’ve applied to the home ministry for approval, as well as for an import duty waiver. (Why is there import duty on bullet-proof vests anyway? Hell, on anything?) And one of them has been quoted as saying:
We decided to procure the jackets ourselves since it would otherwise take the government a decade in procuring them.
Quite. But they have to get past the bullet-proof red tape first.
(Mid Day link via email from Sanjeev.)