In a recognition for a couple working in one of Maharashtra’s toughest workplaces, a husband-and-wife duo from Thane Central Jail have been named among eight personnel from the state’s prisons department to receive prestigious police medals. The announcement came on Thursday, when the Union government declared service medals for 1,090 police personnel from various central and state forces on the eve of Independence Day. An official said the Maharashtra list features Rani Bhosale, superintendent of Thane Central Jail, and her husband Rajaram Bhosale, an additional superintendent at the same facility. The couple has been awarded the President’s Medal for Meritorious Service, in recognition of their decades-long dedication in the face of challenging environment of a prison. The other recipients from the state’s prisons department include Gajanan Kashinath Sarode, Deputy Superintendent, Mumbai Central Jail; Sanjay Gangaram Shivgan, Subedar, Mumbai Central Jail; Sudhakar Omkar Chavan, Havaldar, Mumbai Central Jail; Rajesh Madhukar Sawant, Constable, Byculla District Jail; Sanjay Sadashiv Jadhav, Constable, Byculla District Jail; and Vidya Bharat Dhembere, Prison Constable, Kolhapur Central Jail. Additional Director General of Police (Prisons and Correction Services) Suhas Warke said, “The integrity and devotion to duty of the awardees had set a benchmark for all in the department.”According to the Union Home Ministry, 233 personnel have been awarded the Medal for Gallantry (GM), 99 have received the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM) and 758 have been honoured with the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM).