By Alok Singh
New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS): About 50,000 personnel of Delhi Police got an Independence Day surprise last Friday - a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reaching out to the Delhi Police rank and file - who are out on duty irrespective of national holidays and festivals - the Prime Minister's Office has launched a new initiative of sending greeting messages on such days. The exercise was begun with the 68th Independence Day celebrations.

Around 60 percent of Delhi policemen received greeting messages from the prime minister on their phones and e-mail on Independence Day, said a police official.

Delhi Police officials who received such messages expressed their happiness and appreciated the government's initiative.

Joint Commissioner of Police Dipendra Pathak, who also received an e-mail on Friday (Aug 15), said: "If it comes on every occasion, then this initiative will definitely work towards boosting the morale of the force who work day and night."

A few days prior to Independence Day, the Delhi Police had received a letter from the PMO via the Ministry of Home Affairs asking them to prepare a data base of police personnel along with their rank, name, mobile numbers, e-mail and address.

Sources said the data base of almost 60 percent of the force was given to the home ministry and many of the police personnel received the greeting messages, while the others received it a few days later.

The data of the 80,000 personnel in Delhi Police will be collected soon.

The prime minister's message read: "Greetings on Independence Day! Let us pledge to do good deeds that benefit our Nation, fellow Indians and enhance the pride and prestige of our Tricolour." It was signed Narendra Modi.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police S.B.S. Tyagi, the message was also sent in Hindi.

"Both the messages were received on the same day from a server "ADPM" and sent on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Tyagi.