Indian restaurant celebrates Deepavali with police officers |20 October 2017

To celebrate Deepavali (Diwali) the Copper Pot restaurant at Beau Vallon brought lunch (chicken briyani, ghee rice with chicken curry) to some 50 police officers at the Beau Vallon police station yesterday.

Deepavali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs to mark various historical events and stories, but they all symbolise the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.

It was the newly appointed Commissioner of Police Kishnan Labonte who accepted the donation from the owner of Copper Pot, Mangala Raja.

Mrs Raja stated that everyone needs to support the police officers in their dangerous task.

“Our business is in Beau Vallon and we support the community in whatever forms possible. Deepavali is also a time to share and care, so we found it suitable to share and care with the community police of Beau Vallon and Glacis police station. We are aware how tough the job of every police officer is and we take this Deepavali celebration time to appreciate their service through a common lunch supported by our business,” she said.

Thanking the Copper Pot for such generosity, Commissioner Labonte added that police officers should be respected for their hard work.

“The Copper Pot, within the spirit of sharing and caring, and on the occasion of Deepavali, has generously offered lunch and sweets to the police officers from the Beau Vallon and Glacis stations. On behalf of the station commander and all police officers of Beau Vallon and Glacis, I wish to thank Copper Pot for such gesture. I urge all police officers to engage more with the public and to be part of the community. When the majority of the public is with the police, who can be against you, not even the few bad elements in the community. Let community policing prevail,” he said.

“Every time a police officer puts a uniform on, they put our safety first above theirs. They will do anything to make sure that no one gets hurt. Every time they leave home for another shift, they are not guaranteed to return home,” the Commissioner remarked.

“So every police officer out there, thank you for everything that you do. Thank you for making that choice to protect and serve. Thank you for doing what so many of us aren’t brave enough to do. Thank you for keeping us safe,” Commissioner Labonte concluded.