Sri Vijaya Puram | August 14 – Director General of Police Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal, IPS (AGMUT 1997), has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, the nation’s highest recognition for long and exceptional police service. The announcement, made by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the eve of India’s 79th Independence Day, acknowledges Dhaliwal’s decades of operational leadership, investigative excellence, and reforms in policing — from high-stakes counter-terror operations to transformative changes in the Andaman & Nicobar Police.
Dhaliwal’s career has spanned some of India’s most challenging security scenarios. In Delhi, he led probes into high-profile cases such as murder of Sidhu Moose Wala, Soumya Vishwanathan, Radhika Tanwar, and Jigisha Ghosh, ensuring sustained engagement with victims’ families until conviction. His operational command extended to countering serial blasts by the Indian Mujahideen, neutralising violent gangs in crowded marketplaces, and overseeing the arrest of fugitive gangster Deepak Boxer from Mexico in collaboration with the FBI.
Dhaliwal also spearheaded the investigation into the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, which led to the recovery of sophisticated weaponry, and directed joint operations against Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, and the Islamic State Khorasan Province. His record includes transnational crackdowns on white-collar crime with the CBI, Interpol, and FBI, as well as the arrest of Rajwinder Singh in Australia’s Toyah Cordingley murder case, a suspect carrying a one-million-dollar bounty.
Beyond operations, Dhaliwal has played pivotal roles in managing communal tensions post-Batla House encounter, securing major events such as the 2010 Commonwealth Games and G20 Leaders’ Summit, and neutralising insurgent groups in Arunachal Pradesh. Since taking over as DGP of the islands, he has personally overseen the largest methamphetamine seizure in a joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard and initiated wide-ranging reforms to improve policing efficiency, inter-agency coordination, and crime detection.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also recognised three other officers from the A&N Police. Sub-Inspector V. Satyawati was awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service for swift and effective investigation in a high-profile POCSO case in Rangat. Assistant Sub-Inspector (GD) Mahali Urong of the India Reserve Battalion received the same medal for his leadership in anti-poaching operations in dense island forests. B.C. Naskar, a regular Home Guard since 1994, was conferred the Home Guard Medal for Meritorious Service for his long-standing contribution to law-and-order duties, disaster relief, and VIP security.
The honours mark a moment of pride for the Andaman & Nicobar Police, underscoring the range of talent in the force — from strategic leadership at the highest levels to dedicated service in the most challenging field conditions.
