It was a dark Monday in Delhi yesterday. The national capital wasnât on its best behaviour and that cost us the lives of people who didnât deserve to die. 

As fresh clashes broke out in parts of East Delhi between pro- and anti-CAA protestors early on Monday morning, police officers at the nearest Gokulpuri police station stepped up to calm the protestors and bring peace and order back into the streets of East Delhi.

© Twitter

Little did Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal know that this would be his last time donning the uniform he cherished. As Ratan Lal stepped onto the streets and faced the enraged mob of protesters, pelting stones and showering bullets, he didnât know it would take his life for people to see the gravity of the situation.

Head Constable Ratan Lal was trying to bring the protestors under control when things went out of hand, and he was severely injured in the head while trying to perform his duty, and protect his boss from getting hurt while at it.

© Twitter

Here is what we know about the brave cop who laid down his life for the sake of peace, and duty towards people.

1. Head Constable Ratan Lal was 42-years-old and hailed from Tihawali Village in Fatehpur, Sikar in Rajasthan. Born into a middle-class family, he was the eldest amongst the four brothers and sister.

2. A true patriot, Ratan Lal always wanted to join the forces, don the uniform and serve his country. It was back in 1998 when he joined the Delhi police as a constable.

© Twitter

3. He was posted at the Gokulpuri Police Station and attached to the office of the ACP.

4. He married his wife Poonam in 2004 in Jaipur and the couple had three young children together.

5. Ratan Lalâs eldest daughter Siddhi is merely 13, while her younger siblings Kanak and Ram are just 10 and 8-years-old respectively.

6. Ratan Lal lived with his family in Amrit Vihar Colony in Burari, while the kids attended Delhi Police Public school in the area.

© Twitter

7. Friends and acquaintances say Ratan Lal was a calm, peace-loving man who hated conflicts and arguments.

8. Reportedly, Ratan Lal was killed near Dayalpur police station during the stone-pelting incident when it peaked during noon yesterday. However, word has it that he may have been shot in the head which resulted in his death.

9. While speaking to NDTV, Ratan Lalâs younger brother Dinesh said, "He was the reader of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Gokulpuri. He had just accompanied the ACP, but the mob surrounded him and killed him."

10. According to TOI, Ratan Lal was known as a brave cop in his department and had led many raids conducted by Gokulpuri police over the last few years.

© Twitter

11. One of Ratan Lalâs colleagues told TOI that Lal would always sign up for difficult and dangerous assignments. He added, âHe was instrumental in nabbing the accused in a gruesome rape of two tribal women in 2013 and in an act of vandalism committed by a group of wrestlers at a restaurant in Seemapuri.â

12. Back in his village in Sikar, people are demanding a âmartyrâ status for Ratan Lal and that he be put to rest with full state honours. They have also asked for the government school in their village to be named after Lal.

© Twitter

The braveheart and devoted officer has left behind a devastated family behind for no fault of his, and perhaps this should be our wake up alarm to see what we may have gotten wrong while trying to safeguard our rights while taking away anotherâs right to safe and long life by taking the law into our hands. Violent protests will never bring us the right answers.

View the full article