Advise subordinates not to take huge personal loans, Puducherry DGP tells supervisory officers

PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry DGP B Srinivas has directed the supervisory officers of the department to advise their subordinates not to seek personal loans of high magnitude from nationalised banks and other local banks. The DGP's directive came after the department headquarters learned that many policemen have received personal loans exceeding their annual salary.

A serious debt burden is only going to affect the performance of the police personnel and their morale, the DGP said in a note to the supervisory officers.

"...a number of lower subordinates of the Puducherry police are approaching the nationalised banks as well as other local banks seeking personal loans of high magnitude. It is learned that the loan amounts, in some cases, have exceeded the annual salary of such police personnel. When a few banks refused to provide personal loans of such high volume, it appears that a few police personnel have even closed their accounts with their respective bank branches and opened new accounts in other banks which offered them personal loans at a very high-interest rate," said the DGP.

The DGP said taking personal loans or any other loans is purely a personal choice of the police personnel. "However, it is felt appropriate to advise the senior formations in Puducherry police to counsel the lower subordinates not to fall prey to the temptations of personal loans at high-interest rates as the police personnel may not be in a position to pay back the installments which will add to the interest burden on them," he said.

He directed all supervisory officers to impress upon the lower subordinates to be cautious while seeking such loans. "The SSP (headquarters) and the SP (welfare) should henceforth scrutinise all the welfare loan applications and certify the loans pending any of the lower subordinates before forwarding and recommending them for police welfare loans," he said.