Punjab DGP felicitates Sadak Suraksha Force team that saved Malerkotla's Jindal family

Senior Superintendent of Police Gagan Ajit Singh applauded members of the Sadak Suraksha Force (SSF) team, who had brought laurels to the district police by saving lives of four members of a Malerkotla family recently.

Led by Gurmeet Singh, the SSF team was felicitated by Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav with Commendation Certificate-1 (CC-1) during a ceremony held at his office on Tuesday. SSP SSF Varun Sharma also felicitated the team members at the ceremony.

The Tribune had highlighted the miraculous escape of the family and the performance of the SSF team had drawn the attention of the Punjab Police chief.

SSP Gagan Ajit Singh said the SSF team, constituting four members, had saved the occupants of a car which had fallen into a drain on Malerkotla-Dhuri highway on the intervening night of August 24 and 25.

Exhibiting exemplary presence of mind and coordination, the team members had started a rescue operation by borrowing a ladder, rope and chair from a nearby petrol pump, instead of waiting for a JCB machine and the fire brigade. The rescued persons — Pushpa Jindal, Preety Jindal, Vinay Jindal and Rajiv Jindal — had approached the district police office with the intent to felicitate the team.

Appreciating the initiative taken by DGP Gaurav Yadav to establish the SSF in Punjab, Gagan Ajit Singh, founder chief of the SSF, said that due to this initiative, hundreds of lives were saved after the response time following accidents was minimised.

“It is on record that the establishment of the SSF, a brainchild of our DGP, has proved to be a boon for commuters as uniformed and well-equipped members of the force remain vigilant in case of any emergency,” said Gagan Ajit Singh. He said number of vehicular accidents had fallen significantly after obstructions such as fallen trees, breakdown vehicles and stray animals were removed.

A decline in number of ATM thefts and snatchings on highways, besides safety of valuables of accident victims, were cited as other advantages of the deployment of SSF teams on highways.

• Senior Superintendent of Police Gagan Ajit Singh said the number of vehicular accidents had reduced significantly after obstructions such as fallen trees, breakdown vehicles and stray animals were removed
• Decline in number of ATM thefts and snatchings on highways, besides safety of valuables of accident victims were cited as other intangible advantages of deployment of SSF teams on highways