Amit Shah hands Uttarakhand Police the President's Colour, promises verdicts within three years

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the President’s Police Colour to the Uttarakhand Police at a ceremonial parade in Dehradun on Friday, November 6, 2026, making the Himalayan state’s force the 16th in the country to carry the highest honour a police force can receive from the President.

Shah inspected the parade at the Reserve Police Line and used the occasion to make a pledge about the new criminal laws. For any FIR registered after May 2027, he said, police, prosecution and courts would together see to it that the accused is brought to justice and sentenced within three years, “all within a span of three years”. Police stations, courts and prosecutors are being linked digitally, he said, and forensic science and modern technology would speed up investigations.

A force that grew with the state

The colour, also known as the Nishaan, comes as Uttarakhand marks 25 years since it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. Shah said it was a matter of pride for every officer who had served in the force over that quarter century, and praised its work in putting the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita into practice.

Figures shared at the ceremony traced that growth. The force had about 13,000 personnel when the state was formed and now has more than 26,000, with women making up about 14 per cent. Shah paid tribute to the 206 police personnel who have died on duty since 2000.

The Home Minister singled out the policing of the state’s big pilgrimages. He named the Char Dham Yatra to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, along with Hemkunt Sahib, Kainchi Dham and the Kumbh Mela, and said he had never heard a complaint from pilgrims about the Uttarakhand Police. He also spoke of the Vibrant Villages programme and the effort to stop people leaving border villages.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called the colour national recognition of the force’s service and discipline, and said it would raise both its responsibilities and its drive to do better. When the honour was first announced in April, he had described it as a “golden chapter” in the state’s history.

Drugs, cyber crime and medals

The state’s anti-drug campaign, Drug-Free Devbhoomi, has led to more than 7,000 arrests in four years and the seizure of narcotics worth over ₹307 crore, according to figures presented at the event. The state is setting up a State Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, and the police training college at Narendranagar is to become a Centre of Excellence.

Shah released a special postal cover and a police magazine, and presented medals to five officers. Retired inspector general Narayan Singh Napalchyal and chief fire officer Vansh Bahadur Yadav received the President’s Medal. The force’s Operation Smile, which traces missing children, and Operation Mukti, which moves child beggars into school, were held up as models.

The President’s Police Colour is given after a long review of a force’s record on law and order, crime control, internal security and disaster response. Uttarakhand’s police were credited, among other things, with rescue work during the 2013 Kedarnath disaster.