Inspector fought terrorists, still no martyr status

April 18, 2026

Two daughters of Rajasthan are fighting a battle for the honor of their father. About 40 years ago, their father SI Rajendra Singh Shekhawat sacrificed his life fighting terrorists. Unfortunately, to this day, he has neither been given the status of a martyr nor the respect that he deserved.

What was the whole incident?

On the night between 15-16 April 1986, at 2:40 a.m., at Surajpol police station in Udaipur, terrorists associated with the Khalistan movement (Harjinder Singh ‘Jinda’, Sukhwinder Singh ‘Sukhi’, Kushche, and Chinda) had a confrontation with the police. The four of them were going to Pune to assassinate Army General A.S. Vaidya to avenge ‘Operation Blue Star’ in Punjab. They were traveling in a car. During this time, they lost their way and came to the city of Udaipur.

Incidentally, on the same day, students at a college in Udaipur clashed with locals. In this connection, the police had set up a blockade there. Panicking over the blockade, the terrorists got down from the vehicle and started firing. The policemen who were trying to maintain law and order were taken by surprise by this sudden attack. Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector Rajendra Singh Shekhawat came forward as a shield for his comrades and snatched the pistol from the hands of one of the terrorists. During this scuffle, a bullet was fired, which directly hit Shekhawat in the chest and he died.

However, Rajendra Singh’s duty was not there at that time. After finishing patrol duty, Surajpol was on his way to the control room to complete his attendance. At the same time, they saw the terrorists firing and tried to control them. Along with him, Deputy SP Roshanlal Madhur also died of bullet injuries, while the then deputy Suresh Chandra Pandya (retired ASP) and the then SDO Kailash Chandra Bajpai were injured by bullets. The terrorists managed to escape from there. It is believed that this was the first terrorist incident in the history of Rajasthan.

40 Years of Never-Ending Wait
When Rajendra Singh lost his life fighting terrorists, his elder daughter Ruchi was 11 years old, and his younger daughter Prachi was only a few months old. The daughters said that everything fell apart after their father’s death. Two years later, their mother got a job as a sub-inspector in place of their father under the ‘Deceased Dependent Quota’.

Dr. Ruchi, head of a department at a private university, says – at the time of my father’s martyrdom, my mother Veenu Shekhawat was 29 years old. At the age when people build their lives, my mother’s world had shattered. Breaking societal norms, my mother decided to work and, along with the responsibilities of raising two daughters, tried to honor our martyred father.

Mother continuously corresponded with the police and administration at various levels. She collected evidence related to her husband’s martyrdom from different city police stations, the police headquarters, and the court. Unfortunately, all these efforts proved to be insufficient.

In 2012, thanks to Vinu Shekhawat’s efforts, the Rajasthan Police for the first time initiated the process to honor Rajendra Shekhawat. The then Additional Chief Secretary also instructed the Home Department to take necessary action. Due to the unavailability of documents, this work could not be completed. Amidst this grief and sorrow, after serving in the Rajasthan Police, Vinu Shekhawat passed away in 2017.

After this, the daughters decided to fight for their father’s recognition and honor. The younger daughter and senior RAS officer Prachi recalls, saying – after the passing of our mother, I got the chance to see the documents that she had collected through years of hard work. Along with them were some of her old diaries. In those pages, she had expressed her pain. She had written about how our father did not receive the recognition he deserved and how she spent her entire life fighting for his identity.

In 2019, when the whole country had teary eyes for the soldiers who were martyred in the Pulwama attack, they understood the importance of their father’s martyrdom even more. Since then, they have intensified their fight for their father’s rights.

Fate brought us back to the same place where we had lost everything.
Prachi recalls and says – After my father’s martyrdom, my mother never wanted to return to Udaipur. She spent most of her work time in Jodhpur. She tried to stay away from the city where everything had been taken away from her. But fate had different plans. Both of our marriages took place in Udaipur itself. Over time, mother also came back here. A few years ago, she passed away in this very city.

Prachi and Ruchi say – Even today, when we pass by Surajpol Square, the entire scene comes before our eyes. That night, which changed our lives forever.

In 2019, the martyrdom was honored, but it was incomplete.
Seven years ago, then IG of Udaipur, Vinita Thakur, remembered Rajendra Singh Shekhawat among the department’s martyrs on the occasion of Police Establishment Day and honored Prachi and Ruchi on the stage. After Rajendra Singh’s martyrdom, this was the first recognition of its kind that his family received. However, even this honor remained incomplete.

Prachi Shekhawat says that although it came late, she was grateful that the department finally remembered her father. This meant a lot to us. In a corner of our hearts, there remained a wish that this recognition had come when our mother was alive. She had struggled her entire life for her father’s honor. If she could have seen this, she would have felt that her husband’s sacrifice had not been forgotten.

Still, Prachi cannot remain without expressing her sorrow. She questions – the greatest sorrow is that my father was never officially given the status of a martyr. When a soldier of the army becomes a martyr, his family also bears the same pain and faces the same difficulties as a police officer’s family does. So why are both treated differently? Why is our pain divided into different categories?

The IG had written for a statue, but that also could not be installed.
The then IG Vinita Thakur had written a letter to the mayor suggesting that, to commemorate the bravery of SI Rajendra Singh, a statue should be installed at the site of the encounter with the terrorists, or a road should be named after him. This would give due honor to his bravery. It would also honor the family and inspire other employees working in the police department to perform courageous acts. However, due to departmental complexities and a lack of political will, this could not happen.

Both daughters wish that their father be posthumously awarded the nation’s highest bravery award, the ‘President’s Police Medal.’ In this regard, they have met representatives from local to central levels.

In 2022, the then DGP ML Lather recommended sending a proposal to the Government of India, in which it was mentioned that Rajendra Singh Shekhawat and DSP Roshan Lal Mathur, who were martyred in this incident, should be posthumously awarded the ‘President’s Gallantry Award.’ Ruchi and Prachi Shekhawat also met the then Assembly Speaker CP Joshi and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot regarding their demand. However, no progress was made in this matter.

Similarly, Ruchi and Prachi have met with Udaipur MLA Tarachand Jain as well as Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. But so far, they have only encountered disappointment. Who knows how much longer this struggle will continue.

The Rajasthan Retired Police Welfare Association also wrote a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in 2023, urging the government to grant Rajendra Singh Shekhawat the status of martyr and to honor him posthumously with the ‘President’s Police Medal.’ Along with the family, social organizations like ‘Jaya-Kapil Purva Nyas’ are also continuously struggling to ensure that Rajendra Singh Shekhawat receives the recognition and respect he deserves.

Prachi says, ‘The post-mortem report and police records clearly state that my father was shot in the chest. Since childhood, we have heard that only brave people take a bullet to the chest, and we are their children. We will never let this struggle for his honor and the recognition he deserves weaken.’