LUCKNOW, Aug. 28 -- Twenty schoolgirls walked into the Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters on Thursday with handmade rakhis and a simple message of trust before celebrating Raksha Bandhan with their families. The girls, students of Adarsh Secondary School in the Jan Bhavan complex, tied rakhis to director general of police Rajeev Krishna and other senior police officers at an emotional Raksha Bandhan programme on Thursday. The DGP said the girls' visit was a "special" and pleasant experience and wished them a safe, happy and bright future. The handmade rakhis added a personal touch to the celebration, with the girls participating enthusiastically in the programme. Krishna urged them to pursue their dreams with confidence, dedication and hard work, saying some aspired to become police officers, while others wanted to pursue sports, education and different careers. The celebration was not limited to the police headquarters. A day before Raksha Bandhan, police stations across Lucknow also witnessed women and children tying rakhis to policemen. At Madiaon police station, students from Bal Nikunj School and Saraswati Vidya Mandir tied rakhis to police personnel and fed sweets. Station in-charge Shivanand Mishra said schoolchildren visit the police station every year before Raksha Bandhan, adding that such interactions help build trust between children and the police. At Mal police station, members of Ekal Group tied rakhis to station in-charge Nawab Ahmed and other personnel. A similar programme was held at Itaunja police station, Qaiserbagh, Hazratganj among other police stations in Lucknow Commissionerate where women, including minors, were seen on Rakhi eve and tying rakhi to SHOs and other policemen before feeding them sweets. "Across these gatherings, the ritual carried a message beyond the festival, of women and children seeing the police not merely as an authority in uniform, but as protectors they could trust and turn to," said Qaiserbagh SHO AK Mishra....