Giving details of the January 11 operation in Govindpura industrial estate, Shankar said the police did not get what they deserved.

It may be mentioned that DGP A R Puar had recommended gallantry awards for the officers involved in the operation against the Left-wing extremists. He confirmed to The Indian Express on Thursday that he did recommend the awards but said he was not sure what happened after that.

What four police officers, including Shankar and Bhopal SP A K Singh, received instead was a “letter of appreciation” signed by secretary (Home) S D Agarwal. “It’s a normal D/O that does not even resemble a letter of appreciation,” said one of the recipients.

Shankar neither confirmed nor denied that she wrote the letter rejecting the ‘honour’. “I keep writing letters to the Government on issues dear to my heart,” she said, when reached for her comment on the Home Department’s decision to honour the police officials only with a letter.

On condition of anonymity, Home department officers said “such a letter spurning the Government’s honour amounts to indiscipline and misconduct. “There is a procedure for everything, she could have written to the DGP instead of the Government,” a Home department official said and added that “the letter is being processed”.

One of the recipients accused the Home department of giving the police officials the short shrift. “The DGP’s recommendation was not even forwarded to the chief minister,” the officer claimed.

Only last week, the Government had announced that police officers involved in anti-dacoit operations would be rewarded with revolvers on the occasion of the Independence Day.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will hand over the revolvers to seven IPS officers involved in anti-dacoit operations in the Gwalior-Chambal regions. The Madhya Pradesh Police have eliminated several dacoits, including Jagjivan Singh Parihar, Dayaram Gadaria and Rambabu Gadaria.

The Home Department officials argued that gallantry medals are given only when officials are seen to be going beyond their call of duty and show extraordinary courage. The officials refused to comment on the January operation that led to the arrest of five hardcore Left wing extremists, who had been operating in the industrial area for more than two years.