SRINAGAR: The Bola Nath Mullik Memorial All India Police Football’s 71st opening ceremony was held at Bakhshi Stadium, Srinagar on Sunday. The event was deemed open jointly by Director IB, Tapan Kumar Deka who is also the Chairman of All India Police Sports Control Board, New Delhi, and by Director General of Police, J&K Dilbag Singh.
As per the news agency GNS, Tapan Kumar Deka said that it is indeed a matter of great privilege for him to witness the opening ceremony of the championship, for which he expressed his gratitude to DGP J& K and the Organizing Committee for the opportunity. Kumar said that the All India Police Sports Control Board organizes 40 events in 18 clusters across the country in a year in which 13000 Policemen and sportspersons participate adding that it is a matter of great satisfaction that the popularity and participation of these events have witnessed an exponential increase and has provided a platform to excel the performances due to which many Policemen now have won medals at National and International levels.
The Football championship is named after B N Mullik. Director IB Tapan Kumar congratulated J&K Police for organizing the event. According to him, this platform offers opportunities for interaction, experience sharing, and the strengthening of both personal and professional bonds between various forces. He wished the players well and asked them to play the game with sportsmanship.
Commandant General HG/CD/SDRF J&K, Dr. B. Srinivas, Spl DG CID J&K, R. R. Swain, Spl DG Crime J&K, A. K. Choudhary, MD Police Housing/DG Prison Shri Deepak Kumar, ADsGP SJM Gillani, Dr SD Singh Jamwal, Mukesh Singh, M.K Sinha, Sunil Kumar and Vijay Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer J&K PK Pole, IGsP Nitish Kumar, B S Tuti, M N Tiwari, Vikramjeet Singh and, Secretary Youth Services & Sport, J&K, Sarmad Hafeez, DIsG Sujit Kumar, Vivek Gupta, Rayees Mohammad Bhat, Ms Sarah Rizvi, Imtiaz Ismail, Shahid Mehraj, Rakesh Bhalwal, SSP Srinagar, all JKAP/IRP Commandants of Kashmir and a large of sports enthusiast witnessed the opening ceremony function. Khadi & Village Chairperson Ms Hina Bhat, Mayor SMC Junaid Azam Matoo, DDC Chairperson Aftab Malik also graced the occasion.
DGP welcomed all of the participating teams and noted that in addition to competing for the championship, this is a fantastic chance for the players to see this stunning valley’s natural beauty and rich culture. DGP noted the parallels between effective policing and football, noting that both require power, discipline, and control to get the intended outcomes.
DGP J&K Dilbagh Singh thanked Director IB that his presence at the event has been encouraging all the participants. He further said that Jammu and Kashmir has organized 14 events this is the third occasion that the All India Football Championship is being hosted by JK Police and before this, J&K Police has also hosted its 49th and 66th editions. He stated that JK Police have organized events in almost every sports category including hockey, water sports, golf, etc.
Dilbag Singh said that Jammu and Kashmir have been organizing events across Jammu and Kashmir throughout the year. A few days ago, a marathon “Run for Peace was organized in Jammu in which around 4000 people of different age groups participated and added that events like Pedal for Peace organized in Kashmir also witnessed huge participation. After the COVID period, 70 thousand of youth participated in the event. He added that JK’s young have rejected the “Goli and Grenade” path and are predominantly engaging in constructive activities like sports and other cultural pursuits. He further stated that J&K is moving towards peace and prosperity. The ADGP Armed, J&K SJM Gillani welcomed all the notable personalities at the event. He informed me that 42 teams across the country are participating in the championship which includes 34 men and 8 women teams. He said that this year 41 teams are taking part in the championship of football and J&K is promoting it further.
Director IB Tapan Kumar Deka told the media that teams from all over the nation had come to compete in the competition and that they had a great deal of energy. He added that this event will aid in spreading the message of peace and love and that all the visiting teams will learn about J&K and its gorgeous people living in a peaceful environment. He also congratulated DGP J&K for organizing this event.
Referring to the targeted killings, DGP said that all the countermeasures are in place to stop these attacks and also to hunt down remaining propagators of militancy. He said that infiltration bids have been stopped to a large extent, adding that infiltration chances rise more when snow is melting and all the arrangements are in place to stop these attempts. He said that Pakistan is backing militancy besides pushing narcotics, to raise funds for militant activities. However various modules have been busted and all investigation agencies including SIU, SIA along with NIA and Narcotics Control Bureau are working together to bust all such modules at every level, especially those involving big cartels having interstate ramifications and connections. Referring to the property attachment, he said that only those being attached who, after thorough investigation & probe, have been found involved in providing any kind of support to militancy and added that action under law will be taken against all such persons, reads the statement.
