Police medal, President's Medal elude Kiran Bedi

NEW DELHI: The first woman IPS officer of the country Kiran Bedi, who has been awarded the UN medal for outstanding service, has received neither the Police Medal nor the President's Police Medal in her career spaning 35 years.

The proceedings of the Committee which selects recipients of the medals and norms governing their award are confidential and cannot be divulged as these are protected under the Right to Information Act, according to the Union Home Ministry.

Generally, an IPS officer is awarded these medals within 15 to 21 years of his or her service.

A Delhi-based rights activist Dev Aashish Bhattacharya had approached the Union Home Ministry to know about the reasons why Bedi has not been awarded the medals.

In reply, Director (Police) in MHA Inderjeet Kaur said the cases of Police Medal and President's Police Medal are forwarded to the Home Ministry by respective state governments and Central Para Military Forces. The names are considered by Central Police Awards Committee and forwarded to the President.

"The proceedings of the Committee and norms are confidential..." the reply said.

Bedi has been awarded with President's Gallantry Award (1979), Women of the Year Award (1980), Asia Region Award for Drug Prevention and Control (1991), Magsaysay Award (1994), Father Machismo Humanitarian Award (1995), Mother Teresa Memorial National Award for Social Justice (2005) but the government doers not find her fit for "routine" awards, Bhattacharya said.