Guwahati, Aug. 14: Robin Hibu, an IPS officer who took several steps to help people from the Northeast in the rest of the country, was today bestowed with the President's medal for meritorious service.
Hibu, who served as the nodal officer of Delhi police's special unit for people from the Northeast, took the lead and introduced several initiatives like a helpline number to assist people from the region during emergency, recruitment of youths from the Northeast in Delhi police, free transportation of mortal remains and burial and medical treatment at a concession, among others.
"This is the most heart-touching honour for me as we have been struggling for the safety and security of the people from the Northeast, especially in cities, wiping tears even beyond my call of duty. I have tried to give them hope and solace when they were in distress and in hours of reckoning," Hibu said, hours after his name was announced as one of the recipients of the President's medal today.
Hibu is from Arunachal Pradesh and is an IPS officer of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory cadre. He was appointed the nodal officer of the special unit, set up following the murder of a youth from Arunachal, Nido Tania, in New Delhi, in February 2015.
He, however, was tran-sferred as the inspector-general of police, operations, of Delhi police last month.
Hibu, who is in his mid-forties, was awarded the President's medal in 2009 for his achievement as the superintendent of police in Arunachal Pradesh. He was credited for the recovery of Rs 15 crore, which was looted from a government treasury, arrests of several militants and recovery of weapons and involving the youth in community policing. He was also awarded Arunachal Pradesh government's gold medal, twice, for distinguished public services as the superintendent of police in 2002 and deputy inspector-general of police in 2009.
He was also honoured twice by the UN Secretary General in 1998 and 2000 for exceptional services for the cause of peace in war-torn Yugoslavia (Kosovo and Bosnia) as UN police commander at Gnjilane region, Kosovo, where he served for two-and-a-half years.
Some of the achievements under his tenure as the nodal officer of the special unit in New Delhi include introduction of standing order procedure to Delhi police while dealing with crimes against people from the Northeast, sensitising schoolchildren in Delhi about the culture of the Northeast, a special patrolling service to check crimes against people from the region, blood bank at AIIMS hospital, free transportation of the mortal remains of financially weaker people from the Northeast through private airlines and free IAS coaching for students from the region.
Assam police medals: Altogether 11 Assam police personnel, including the superintendent of police (communication), Prasanta Saikia, were awarded the police medal for meritorious service on the eve of Independence Day.
