On Police Commemoration Day, 21 October 2026, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy stood before the martyrs' memorial at Goshamahal Stadium, Hyderabad, and made a sweeping promise to the state's police force: every single vacancy in Telangana Police will be filled by 2028. The announcement came wrapped in a detailed welfare overhaul — sharply higher compensation for fallen officers, a new school for their children, and a direct assurance to martyrs' families that the government will stand with them. That is not rhetoric. It came with rupee figures.

A pledge written in numbers at Goshamahal

Speaking after receiving the police guard of honour, the Chief Minister outlined what the government has already done. By October 2025, roughly 16,000 constables and Sub-Inspectors had been recruited. A further 5,000 posts have been sanctioned for 2026. Phase by phase, the government aims to eliminate the staffing shortage entirely by 2028 — a gap that has persisted since the 2014 bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh carved out a new state cadre for Telangana.

The CM also highlighted two firsts he attributed to this tenure. 112 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) were appointed — a figure he said had never been achieved even in the combined Andhra Pradesh era. And, in what he described as unprecedented nationwide, transgender individuals have been appointed as traffic assistants, he said, to 'enhance their self-respect and dignity.'

Martyrs' families: the ex-gratia leap from lakhs to crores

The most concrete measure of the day was a sweeping revision of ex-gratia payments for police personnel who die in the line of duty. For constables, the payout rises from Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Head Constables and ASIs move from Rs 45 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors, previously at Rs 45–50 lakh, will now receive Rs 1.25 crore. DSPs and Additional SPs go from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore, while SPs and IPS officers see their compensation double from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.

Beyond the payout, the government will provide one eligible family member a government job, a residential plot, free education and medical care, reserved medical-college seats, and an additional Rs 16 lakh from the Bhavita Welfare Fund plus Rs 8 lakh from the welfare corpus. For Home Guards killed on duty, the CM directed the DGP to raise the ex-gratia from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh on the spot.

Addressing martyrs' families directly, he said: 'No one can bring back the person you lost. No one can fully fill the void in your family. But you are not alone in your grief. The Telangana government, the police force, and Telangana society stand with you.'

Tackling cyber crime, drugs, and food adulteration

The CM framed modern policing challenges — cyber crime, online fraud, narcotics trafficking, and food adulteration — as a new frontier requiring dedicated institutional responses. He praised the anti-narcotics unit EAGLE Telangana and DGP CV Anand for their performance on drug control. A new food-safety enforcement cell, @c_tgsafe, has been launched to crack down on adulteration 'with an iron fist.' The She-Teams, Telangana's dedicated women's-safety squads, will continue and be strengthened. The 'Stand With Her' initiative, launched in March 2026, and Spandana — Immediate Protection Teams, rolled out in April 2026, round out the women's and children's safety architecture.

He also formally opened the Young India Police School on 44 acres in Manchirevula, Rangareddy district — a residential school for children of police personnel from Home Guard level up to DGP rank.

A national toll of 154, and the accountability it demands

Reminding the gathering that 154 police personnel across India lost their lives on duty this year alone, the CM articulated the logic behind the welfare drive in explicitly economic terms: 'Development is not just roads and buildings. A state truly develops only when its people can live without fear. For industries, investment, IT, and tourism to grow — law and order is non-negotiable.' He closed with a pointed instruction to every officer in uniform: 'Be friendly with ordinary citizens who come to you trusting that their problem will be solved. Be firm with criminals. That is where the real meaning of friendly policing lies.'

Telangana's police are now watching to see whether the 2028 staffing deadline holds. The martyrs' families have their numbers in writing.