Youngest contingent to take part in Independence Day parade

Hyderabad, Aug 14 (UNI) The Independence Day parade tomorrow at Secunderabad will have a special attraction. -- a pan-Andhra Pradesh contingent dressed smartly with red berets and a white standard from Prem Sadan, the network of boys hostels run by the Andhra Pradesh Police.

It is also the youngest contingent ever to participate in the Independence Day march-past. The average age of the boys is 14.

There are 51 of them- all sons of policemen who died while on duty, according to a press release.

Leading the contingent is Mohammed Mehboob, a first year B.Com student and son of head constable Mohammed Jehangir who died in 2002.

These boys, who come from different districts, stay in the Prem Sadan hostels in Hyderabad, Guntur and Nellore and pursue their education with the help of the Welfare Department of the state police.

Prem Sadan was founded in Hyderabad in 1908 and similar hostels were started in Guntur in 1965 and Nellore in 1966.

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