Families of policemen unleash social media campaign for better facilities in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Amid police personnel in Chhattisgarh demanding better facilities and their family members staging protests at many places, policemen and their family members are using innovative ways to highlight their grievances through the social media.
The trouble in the lower ranks of the state police began earlier this month after the Raman Singh government announced to absorb nearly 1.8 lakh ‘Shiksha Karmis’—or the teachers working on honorarium basis—in regular service, substantially increasing their salaries.Resentment began brewing among police personnel, who work for long hours—leading to protests by their family members in many places in the state. Family members of policemen initially took the social media, mainly Whatsapp to highlight the plight of policemen pointing out that their monthly allowances were just a pittance such as Rs 60 monthly for washing allowance, Rs 81 for cycle allowance, Rs 200 medical allowance, Rs 100 for nutritious food and so on.
The government and police establishment began mounting pressure on constables to keep their family members aloof from ongoing protest and proposed state-level agitation on June 25. Besides, the police also slapped show cause notices on many constables as to why their services should not be terminated under the police rules for ‘instigating’. Amid pressure from the police officers, some of the constables have maintained that their family members are “separate entities” and they only can take responsibility of themselves for not taking part in the agitations.
It is in this backdrop that certain letters began circulating on the social media. One such letter addressed to the superintendent of police, has sought permission to beat his wife as she is not ready to hear his advice about not participating in the ongoing agitation. Similarly, in some other cases, few women have submitted letters to the office of superintendent of police in respective districts complaining that their constable husbands were beating and threatening them—in order to prevent them from attending the ongoing agitations. These letters written by spouses of constables claim that their husbands were doing this after being pressurised by senior police officers to impress upon their family members from keeping aloof from the agitations.
Copy of one of such letters, which is in possession of TOI, claim that such undue pressure from her husband, who is working for the police force, amounts to infringement of her fundamental rights and freedom and police department would be squarely responsible for any untoward incident happens to her or the family. The letter has requested the superintendents of police to advise the constables against indulging in such action and allow them to participate in the proposed agitation on June 25.
Meanwhile, Director General of state police A N Upadhyaya, addressing a press conference, has appealed to the policemen and their family members to withdraw from protests and agitations, assuring them there is an established system within the force to raise their grievances.