LUCKNOW: As many as 22 police officers and personnel from Uttar Pradesh have been selected for the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence for 2026 in recognition of their outstanding work in special operations and investigation.The list released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs includes officers ranging from deputy inspector general (DIG) and senior superintendent of police (SSP) to superintendents of police (SP), additional SPs, inspectors, sub-inspectors and head constables.Of the 22 awardees from Uttar Pradesh, 17 have been selected in the special operations category for their contribution to two separate operations, while five have been recognised for excellence in investigation.In the special operations category, five officers and personnel have been selected for their work during an operation conducted on May 12 and 13, 2026. They include ATS DIG Abhishek Yadav, Additional SP Preeti Bala Gupta, inspectors Arvind Kumar Pandey, Sudhir Kumar Ujjwal and Kailash Yadav.Sub-inspectors Mohammad Tariq and Amit Kumar Bhati, along with head constables Anshul Kumar, Rohit Malik, Salim, Bharat Pandey and Dinesh Chandra Kanojia, have also been selected for the same operation.Another five police personnel have been recognised for their contribution to an operation conducted between September 27 and October 1, 2025. They include SSP Devesh Kumar Pandey, inspectors Vikram Singh and Fazlur Rahman, and head constables Shailendra Kumar Singh and Amit Kumar.In the investigation category, five Uttar Pradesh police officers have been selected for the medal. They are SP Anukriti Sharma, inspectors Vishwajeet Pratap Singh, Sanjesh Kumar and Umesh Roria, and Sub-Inspector Brindavan Rai.Apart from the 22 personnel from the UP Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sabhajeet Chauhan, posted with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Lucknow, has also been selected for the medal in the investigation category.Chauhan was recognised for investigating a case involving the arrest of a Central Bureau of Narcotics inspector and other personnel while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh in August 2025.According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a total of 490 officers and personnel from across the country have been selected for the 2026 medals.Of these, 358 have been recognised for excellence in special operations, 123 for outstanding investigation and nine for exceptional work in forensic science.The special operations category includes personnel from state police forces, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles, while the investigation category features officers from state police forces as well as central agencies such as the CBI, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).The medals recognise outstanding professional performance and contributions in specialised operational and investigative assignments.
