Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the country saw the humane face of police during the Covid-19 pandemic and asked the force to safeguard and build on this asset.

Virtually addressing the probationers of the Indian Police Service's 2018 batch passing out of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad, he said the new image built by the force during the crisis had become its biggest asset and there was a need to preserve it.

Modi said the country saw the humane face of khaki during the pandemic as the police personnel were seen singing songs, providing food and water to those living on footpath and risking their lives to carry patients to hospitals.

"In the eyes of a common man, by and large, the image of police was of a baton, argument and repression. It does not mean that they were not doing any humanitarian work earlier but during coronavirus, the society felt its collective impact for the first time," he said.

During an hour-long interaction with the IPS probationers from various parts of the country, the Prime Minister shared his thoughts on various issues.

He underlined the need for the police to make use of the power of the society which always comes forward to render humanitarian assistance during crises.

Modi suggested that the humanitarian works undertaken by police are given a written form at the level of each police station through involvement of local schools. He said this would help the old, young and the coming generation to know about their work.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts to prevent youth from walking on the path of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We need to prevent youth from taking the wrong path at an early age itself. Women police officers can do this by involving women, making them understand the need to stop their children from taking the wrong path," he said.

Modi said people of Jammu, Ladakh, the Kashmir Valley and Kargil were all good people. "I am confident that we will succeed in our efforts to bring back their life of happiness," he said.

(IANS)