Rajendra Singh, DSP rail (Patna) proceeds to receive the award from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Jan. 15: He is a police officer with a difference, whom any force would be proud to have. He has been decorated with all the police medals unlike any other from his fraternity.

Rajendra Singh, the deputy superintendent of police of rail (Patna). Chief minister Nitish Kumar honoured Singh with Prakram Medal at the annual police reward distribution function held at Gandhi Maidan today for killing a dreaded criminal of Fatuha in Patna rural, Kalika Tamboli, in an encounter in 2006. Singh had received a gunshot injury in his right leg in the encounter.

With this award to his credit, Singh is probably the first deputy superintendent of police in the country to have been honoured with six police medals. Out of those, he has been given President’s Police Medal for Gallantry twice — first in 1994 and another in 2010. Singh, a1976 batch sub-inspector, was selected for President’s Police Medal for Gallantry when he was posted as station house officer of Mairwa police station in Saran district. His name for the prestigious award was selected for killing two dreaded criminals, Vishwajeet Rai and Lal Babu Bhagat, who had unleashed a reign of terror in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The two absconders from jail were wanted in over 35 criminal cases. Singh was honoured with President’s Police Medal for meritorious services in 1997 while posted as inspector of Hilsa in Nalanda district.

He was also given President’s Medal for Internal Security in 2002 for outstanding contribution to the maintenance of law and order in Maoist-hit district.

Again in 2004, Singh was honoured with the President’s Police Medal for distinguished services when he was posted as station house officer of Kotwali police station in Patna. His name was recommended for President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (Bar) for killing three dreaded criminals of Patna, Vicky Sharma, Karu and Rajiv Kumar.

On August 15 last year, he received the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for the second time in his career.

Singh, a native of Bakra Lauhar village in Bhojpur district, hails from a family of policemen. His father, D.D. Singh, and grandfather, R.B. Singh, had also served the police force.