Agartala, Jan 29: Babulal Debnath, Dy SP of Tripura Police, has secured second place among the top five Rah-Veers in the country. He has been honoured with the ‘Rah-Veer Samman Smarak 2026’.
The prestigious award was presented to him by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on January 23 at the ‘Grand Telethon of Road Safety Campaign 2026’ held at Prime Focus Studio, Film City, Mumbai.
In recognition of this remarkable achievement, Transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Friday felicitated DSP Debnath at the Secretariat.
Meanwhile, the Central Government has launched the ‘Rah-Veer’ scheme to encourage and honour individuals who ensure that road accident victims are rushed to hospitals during the ‘Golden Hour’—the first one hour after an accident—thereby saving lives.
Under the newly introduced scheme, eight individuals from North Tripura’s Dharmanagar sub-division, including DSP Babulal Debnath, were honoured on December 22 last at the Secretariat for displaying exceptional courage and humanitarian values in saving the lives of road accident victims. 
Each awardee—Titu Dutta, Uttam Pal, Shyamal Das, Santosh Das, Biswajit Chowdhury, Jayanta Sinha, Mingchung Nonga and DSP Babulal Debnath—received a cheque of Rs. 25,000 along with certificates.
According to Chowdhury, the national honour to the DSP is rooted in a courageous act of humanity. 
On July 1, 2025, while returning to Agartala after dropping his daughter at the airport, Debnath noticed an elderly woman lying severely injured and bleeding on the road at Durjoynagar under NCC police station jurisdiction. It was a brutal hit-and-run incident. With no one around, he stopped his vehicle and, with the help of a local resident, rushed the woman to the GBP Hospital Trauma Centre in Agartala. Timely medical intervention saved her life.
Chowdhury mentioned in a social media post, saving the lives of accident victims is not only a humanitarian duty but a noble act that upholds the value of human life. Helping victims receive prompt medical care reflects the highest ideals of compassion and humanity.