No respite for police on guard duty, many sleep on pavement

CHENNAI: Days after the Madras high court rappedthe government for working police personnel into the ground, leading to many quitting the force and a few even ending their lives, the burden on the men in khaki appears to be as heavy as ever.
The court had come down heavily on the practice of assigning police personnel to guard empty bungalows and memorials and forcing them to stay on the roads for hours when VIPs moved around the city. On Tuesday, a group of armed reserve police constables slept overnight on the pavement near a seven-star hotel in Guindy where a high-level delegation from Australia was staying. The weary cops later took to social media, releasing an audio clip detailing the woeful conditions under which they toil during police bandobustduty.

A retired police officer, however, said their working conditions have improved sincethedays of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former chief minister MGRwhen policemen used to be present on the roads even for 12 to 18 hours, if the leaders were behind schedule. Now, police personnel are placed on shifts when they are assigned with handling VIP security, he added.

VKannadasan, former special public prosecutor for human right cases, said, “If they are assigned for bandobust duty, why should they sleep? Thosewho are on the next shift can stay at the nearest armed reserve barracks where they will alsobe providedfood.”

Former metropolitan magistrate V J Arulraj agreed with the court’s observations, saying police personnel are coming under immense pressure by working beyond the call of duty, leading to rising stresslevels. “Many police personnel are forcedtoskip family functions as they work long hours and are not granted sufficient leave,” he added.

Tamil Nadu was one of the first states to form all-woman police stations during the tenure of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 1992. However, women police personnel are also being roped in for VIP bandobust on the city roads. As part of their duties, they stand at the designated spot for more than three hours before the VIP’s arrival and leave only after the dignitary reaches the destination. The idea of stationing police personnel at a gap of every 100 metresistoensure that no one attempts to sneak intotheVIPconvoy, said a senior police officer, adding that this was used to happen when thestatehad charismatic leaders from thetinselworld.

It’s been a while now since the state was ruled by such a leader but oldhabitsdiehard, it wouldseem.