Vir Chakra winner, Kargil war hero finally gets double promotion after working as traffic cop for 10 years

Satnam Singh, the Head Constable in the Punjab Police, was managing traffic in Sangrur for past 10 years. Little did people around him know that he was a Kargil war hero, who was awarded Vir Chakra for his exemplary courage during the military operations at Tiger Hill. Singh was posted in the Drass sector during Operation Vijay and was part of the team that helped the Indian Army capture Tiger Hill. In what can be called as course correction, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh finally gave double promotion to Satnam Singh on Monday.

“Really happy to pipp #Kargil war hero Satpal Singh as ASI. Only feel sorry he didn’t get his due earlier. We’ve decided to come out with policy to prevent such injustice in future. It’ll ensure 1-rank promotion for gallantry award winning defence & police personnel from Punjab,” the Punjab Chief Minister said on Twitter while posting the photos of the ceremony.

 

Really happy to pipp #Kargil war hero Satpal Singh as ASI. Only feel sorry he didn’t get his due earlier. We’ve decided to come out with policy to prevent such injustice in future. It’ll ensure 1-rank promotion for gallantry award winning defence & police personnel from Punjab. pic.twitter.com/tmGtvsCIeL

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) July 29, 2019

For those who don’t know, Satnam Singh had killed Captain Karnal Sher Khan of Pakistan's Northern Light Infantry and three others. Khan was later conferred the Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan's highest gallantry award, on the recommendation of an Indian brigade commander who vouched for his bravery on the icy heights. Satnam Singh’s ordeal was published by The Indian Express on July 26, the day nation was celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Vijay Diwas.

The report had detailed how after completing his service in the Indian Army, Satnam Singh joined Punjab Police in 2010. He joined the state police under ex-serviceman quota. On Monday, after the pipping ceremony, Amarinder Singh issued a statement in which he said that he had merely set right the "wrong perpetrated" on Satpal Singh by the previous SAD-BJP government. Amarinder Singh also said that his government was formulating a policy to award one-rank promotion for any defence or police personnel from the state winning a gallantry award in war or in peace time