Not honoured, Rajkot, A'bad cops express dissent

SURAT: A fresh controversy is brewing among three police commissionerates of Gujarat police. In an apparent dissent against the cash reward given to members of bomb disposal squad (BDS) and those of dog squad of Surat police by Chief Minister Narendra Modi a couple of days ago, their counterparts in Rajkot have officially expressed dissent through the police commissioner to director general of police (DGP) office for not acknowledging the role played by Rajkot BDS.
Members of Ahmedabad BDS have also approached commissioner OP Mathur complaining that their names were not pitched in a 90-minute-long meeting with Modi. Sources revealed that officials involved in defusing the bombs are not concerned about monetary gains but remarks of appreciation from the CM, in their career book, were more important.
On Wednesday, Modi had invited the Surat BDS and dog squad members to praise their efforts and give them cash rewards. Sources told TOI that when the list of those who were involved in the bomb defusing exercise was read out, names of those who were from Rajkot were not mentioned. Rajkot police commissioner Sudhir Sinha, who is known for regularly acknowledging his staff for their efforts, gathered documentary proof that his men had actually defused the bombs in Surat.
Sinha confirmed that he has brought the issue to the notice of DG office. "It is true that Rajkot BDS members were not part of the meeting with the CM and they are not even given financial rewards. I have sent a formal communique to the DG office. Before doing that, I verified the facts by visuals showing that my men had actually defused the bombs."
Similarly, an official from Ahmedabad Police confirmed that BDS members in Ahmedabad had made a strong representation before the police commissioner. "Whether it is one bomb or 29, the risk involved in doing the job was same, irrespective of the location. There were a lot of arguments between BDS men and Mathur regarding the rewards and elimination from the meeting with the CM. However, they were told that the list was prepared by the CMO and that the state police had no role to play in it," the official told TOI.