JAMMU: Commending the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for transforming the recruitment landscape through transparency and merit since 2019, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday exhorted newly appointed police officers to serve the public with unwavering courage, integrity, and deep compassion.

Addressing a ceremony at Lok Bhavan where he handed over appointment letters to 29 newly inducted officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Police (Gazetted) Service, the Lieutenant Governor congratulated the recruits for succeeding in an exacting, merit-based selection framework.

“You have faced tough competition. You have traversed a challenging path that tested not only your intelligence, but your patience, character, discipline, and endurance under pressure,” LG Sinha remarked.

Emphasizing the end of recommendation-driven appointments, LG Sinha stated that the post-2019 recruitment ecosystem has restored public trust, allowing children from ordinary socio-economic backgrounds—including families of daily wage-earners and street vendors—to secure elite administrative and police positions on sheer merit.

“The recruitment system has ensured that government jobs are earned through hard work, capability, and talent rather than political patronage or recommendations. A complete book could be written on how jobs were distributed in earlier days—and the people here know that reality even better than I do,” he observed, pointing to the shift witnessed since the 2022 Employment Festival.

‘Uniform Signifies Duty and Sacrifice, Not Authority’

LG Sinha cautioned the young officers against viewing their induction as a mere government job or an instrument of dominance, framing the khaki uniform as a sacred pact with the citizenry.

“The badge on your uniform is not a symbol of power over the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but an emblem of duty, trust, and responsibility towards them,” he said, urging the officers to carry this mindset into their upcoming training at the Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy (SKPA) in Udhampur.

“When you wear the khaki, you become an impenetrable wall between terror outfits and ordinary civilians. You are entrusted with the safety of every citizen’s dreams and dignity,” he added, reiterating the core operational maxim of the force: “Never touch the innocent, and never let the culprit escape.”

Confronting Modern Security & Cyber Realities

Drawing attention to the fast-evolving landscape of security, the Lieutenant Governor stressed that asymmetric threats now stretch far beyond conventional combat zones.

“Today’s Jammu and Kashmir faces security realities that officers a decade ago could scarcely have envisioned. The face of militancy is shifting: non-kinetic battlegrounds, virtual spaces, and digital radicalization pose continuous challenges, while terror funding increasingly leverages cryptocurrencies, hawala networks, and money laundering,” LG Sinha pointed out.

He noted that internal security duties must be matched with active efforts to uphold the rule of law, safeguard fundamental rights, and maintain inter-community harmony across the Union Territory.

Tribute to Families and Senior Leadership

Concurring that authority must remain tethered to humanity, LG Sinha urged the officers to temper decisive state power with empathy, stating that the ultimate benchmark of a healthy democracy lies in how securely its most vulnerable citizens can live.

He also expressed gratitude to the parents and families of the newly commissioned officers for nurturing their resolve through years of preparation.

The event was attended by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary (Home) Chandraker Bharti, Commissioner Secretary (GAD) M Raju, along with senior figures across the police and civil bureaucracy.