New Delhi: Last February, when communal carnage broke out across north-east Delhi, 31-year-old Head Constable Deepak Dahiya was in the eye of the storm. A rioter, Shahrukh Pathan, wielding a pistol, pointed it towards an unarmed HC Dahiya, who, unfazed, walked up to the suspect and disarmed him as stone-pelting continued around him.
Pathan, who was later arrested, managed to fire two shots, one in the air and another that narrowly missed Dahiya.
Dahiya is among the 68 police personnel who were recently promoted out of turn for displaying extraordinary courage and dedication throughout last year. The 31-year-old will now be promoted to the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), but he still has to finish his pending training courses in the next nine months to get to the next rank. While Dahiya, posted with the Special Cell, recalls the fateful day last year when he faced death and attributes it as largely being responsible for his "much-needed" promotion, he points out a chain of other missions that he played a crucial role in, that also had an impact on his promotion.
Posted with the Delhi Police's Third Battalion when the incident took place at North-East Delhi's Jafrabad-Maujpur area, he said. "After the incident, everybody knew my name and appreciated my bravery...," Dahiya told Millennium Post.
"During the riots, there were so many people involved that it became very difficult to escape from that place so I thought that since there is no way out it will be better if I stand my ground and serve my duty," Dahiya, father to two girls, six and one, added.
Among the other crucial operations that Dahiya was involved in since last year, he said he was part of the team that nabbed four members of the notorious Kala Jatheri gang. Dahiya was also part of the team which nabbed Pakistan Intelligence Agency ISI's Harpal Singh, from Punjab's Taran Taran district, for which he had to extensively work on various intelligence and inputs. Singh was allegedly involved in passing on sensitive information related to the Indian Army and their movement.
Just like last year, when the video of Pathan pointing a gun at him at point-blank range went viral in his village back in Sonipat's Tajpur Tihara Khurd, this time too the news of his promotion has reached his native place. "My neighbours are very happy and my phone and congratulatory messages from friends and family haven't stopped," he said.