‘Overburdened’, seven Haryana cops apply for demotion

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, July 5

Already reeling under an acute staff crunch, the Haryana Police now face a peculiar problem as some employees have requested their higher-ups to demote them from their current ranks, citing depression and other stress-related ailments.

Cite stress-related ailments

• Seven applications received at the ADGP office in Hisar
• The police personnel say they won’t claim seniority, Assured Career Progression in future
• Cite depression and other stress-related ailments
• Haryana Police have 50,000 personnel against sanctioned strength of 70,000

According to police sources, there are seven applications with the Additional Director General of Police’s (ADGP) office in Hisar from police personnel requesting demotion from their current posts such as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and Head Constable.

In his application for demotion, an ASI posted at the City police station in Fatehabad stated that he had been suffering from ailments such as depression, sugar and blood pressure, making it tough for him to handle case investigations. “I request to be demoted to a lower rank. I will never stake a claim for seniority or Assured Career Progression (ACP) in the future,” he stated.

A Head Constable from the Civil Lines police station in Hisar, while requesting a demotion, stated that he was suffering from depression and was unable to carry out investigations. “My father is suffering from cancer and my wife is also employed with the police. I too am suffering from ailments and there is no one at home to take care of our children,” he explained. Another Head Constable from Fatehabad district submitted a similar application to the higher authorities.

While ADGP M Ravi Kiran was unavailable for comment despite attempts to reach him on his official mobile phone and at his residence, Fatehabad SP Astha Modi declined to comment on the matter.

Dilawar Singh, president of the Haryana Police Sangathan, an organisation of retired police personnel, told The Tribune that he had received information about 20 police personnel “applying for demotion” and an equal number submitting applications for premature retirement. “Extreme pressure and adverse working conditions are the reasons behind these requests. The 70,000-strong Haryana Police face a shortage of about 20,000 personnel below the rank of Sub-Inspector,” he said.

Despite directives from the Supreme Court and recommendations from Police Commissions for reforms, the same old structure continued in the Haryana Police, he alleged. “We are poorly paid and overburdened. Besides the official duties of investigation and law and order, police personnel are assigned several others tasks,” he said.

Dilawar said the new criminal laws had given more powers to the police officers, which was likely to further demoralise the lower ranks. “Police personnel are one pay commission behind compared to other government employees. The third pay commission was not granted to the police in Haryana. The existing system is likely to further widen the gap between the police and public. These factors also lead to corruption in the police,” he said.