Policemen rehearse to control crowds at Gandhi Maidan, ahead of the award distribution ceremony on Saturday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 14: It will be a show of might and resources as the Bihar police force steps out to display what they are capable of at the annual police rewards function to be held at Gandhi Maidan on January 15.

Though schools are closed, senior policemen want to ensure that children come down to the event to watch the show.

P.K. Thakur, additional director-general (headquarters), said: “The event will be a grand one. Though schools are closed, we want the children to come and watch the programme. They can learn so many things from the show. Advertisements about the event have been published in newspapers and we hope people come to watch the show.”

The preparations for the event, which will see the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar, is on full swing. Police personnel, who have put in endless hours of rehearsals, said they wanted to put up the best show for the people.

On Friday, the final rehearsal for the event was held at Gandhi Maidan in presence of senior police officers including director-general of police Neel Mani.

For the police force, the event would be a platform to display the infrastructure and ways of policing, at a time when the state is witnessing a spurt in criminal activities in terms of the abductions, loots and murders.

Around 406 policemen from across the state will be awarded for their bravery, during the programme.

In addition to this, 35 civilians will also be given bravery awards.

The programme would include a parade by different police wings including that of home guards, a march by the personnel of the Special Task Force (STF) of state police and many others.

STF, the force created to counter Maoists, would display state-of-the-art arms and equipment like the 81-mm mortar, satellite phones, light machine guns, mounted jeeps, anti-landmine vehicles and others.

There would be shows on police training with sticks, the anti-riot officers’ action and modus operandi in case of a riot, a performance by sniffer dogs tracking landmines and explosives.

The Mounted Battalion of the police would come up with an eye-catching horse show in which some tricks on horses will be shown.

“The entire force is working hard to ensure that the event is a success. It will be an important and a proud day for the Bihar police. The parade rehearsals were being done for weeks to ensure that the jawans are able to synchronise their steps. It will be a proud moment for those policemen who will be receiving gallantry awards. As the chief minister would be giving away the awards, it would be a pompous moment for the force,” a senior police officer said.