Twenty-five years of patrolling treacherous Himalayan terrain, managing millions of Char Dham pilgrims, and holding the line through floods and landslides — and on Friday, 6 November 2026, Uttarakhand Police received the nation's highest honour for a state force. Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the President's Police Colour (Rashtrapati Police Nishan) on the force at a ceremony held at Reserve Police Lines, Dehradun, with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in attendance, marking what the Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand described as a historic milestone for the state.

Uttarakhand becomes the 16th state to earn the Presidential Colour

The President's Police Colour is the highest distinction the Indian government can bestow on a police force, awarded in recognition of exceptional service, discipline, and dedication over a sustained period. With this conferral, Uttarakhand joins a select group as the country's 16th state to receive the honour — no small achievement for a force that was constituted virtually from scratch when the state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000. Amit Shah inspected the police parade before formally presenting the Colour, underscoring the ceremony's national significance.

Speaking at the event, Shah called the moment 'a proud occasion for every police officer and constable of the state.' He noted that the force had grown from roughly 13,000 personnel at inception to more than 26,000 today, navigating some of the country's most demanding geography: steep mountain passes, flash-flood zones, and remote border districts where the nearest reinforcement can be hours away.

Presidential medals for five officers, special postal cover released

Amit Shah also presented individual honours at the ceremony. The President's Medal for Distinguished Service went to retired Inspector General of Police Narayan Singh Naplachyal and Chief Fire Officer Vansh Bahadur Yadav. The Medal for Meritorious Service was awarded to Superintendent of Police Jagdish Chandra, Assistant Commandant Pratima Bhatt, and retired Sub-Inspector (Intelligence) Sauhakar Pundir. Shah and CM Dhami jointly released a special postal cover and a police journal to mark the occasion.

The Home Minister also paid tribute to the 206 personnel of Uttarakhand Police who have laid down their lives in the line of duty since the force's formation — a sombre reminder that the mountains exact a price far beyond logistics.

Three new criminal laws and a three-year conviction target

Beyond the ceremony, Shah used the platform to spell out a concrete criminal-justice deadline. He said that for FIRs registered after May 2027, the government has set a target of delivering convictions within three years. Achieving that will require digitally linking police stations, courts, prosecution, and forensic units — work, he said, that is already under way. The push is embedded in the rollout of the three new criminal laws — enacted by Parliament in December 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Evidence Act — which came into force from 1 July 2024. Shah credited Uttarakhand Police with notable progress in implementing these statutes, including the adoption of modern forensic science and digital investigation tools.

Char Dham security, border villages, and 37 medals at the World Police Games

Uttarakhand hosts the Char Dham circuit — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri — drawing millions of pilgrims each year, plus the Kumbh Mela cycle. Shah acknowledged that managing this scale of religious tourism, alongside disaster-relief operations during annual floods, represents a distinctive and gruelling operational responsibility that most state forces never face.

He also highlighted the force's role in supporting the Vibrant Village Programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to develop infrastructure and retain population in border villages along India's northern frontier — a scheme with clear strategic intent in the high-altitude districts that abut China and Nepal. On internal security, Shah pointed to national progress in rolling back left-wing extremism and reiterated the Centre's 'Nasha Mukt Bharat' (Drug-Free India) campaign, noting that Uttarakhand Police has taken 'commendable steps' on anti-narcotics operations and cyber-crime prevention. He rounded off with a congratulatory note on the force's athletes winning 37 medals at the World Police and Fire Games.

An award, a target, a tribute to the fallen — Friday's ceremony in Dehradun set a clear measure against which Uttarakhand Police will now be judged: convictions within three years, a drug-free hill state, and borders that hold. The Colour they carry now demands nothing less.