Close on the heels of a letter written by the IPS officers’ association president R.P. Sharma to the Chief Secretary on law and order issues, which caused embarrassment to the government, a letter from the Karnataka State Reserve Police Force (KSRPF) Association has reached the same authority claiming “harassment” by IPS officials.
In a letter written to the Chief Secretary dated March 12, the KSRPF Association (an unregistered association in Mandya district) has said that Mr. Sharma had tried to cast aspersions on the government, while in reality many IPS officers in the State “lacked work culture, integrity and professionalism”. It alleged that IPS officials harass the lower cadre.
When contacted, Chief Secretary K. Ratna Prabha said she had not received the letter yet.
The letter claimed that “bonded labour in the form of orderly system” still exists despite government withdrawing the system. The IPS officers “misuse power, government property, and are involved in casteism”, it alleged, adding that this work culture had affected the basic work of upholding the dignity of the police force.
Elaborating on the claims, Sudhakar, president of the KRPF association, said that though the government had scrapped the orderly system, there was no official order on the issue yet, and many IPS officers across the State not only take trained policemen as orderlies to do menial jobs, but also claim allowances from the government. The letter also alleged that corruption, favouritism, and casteism is rampant among the IPS officers.
As per the rough estimate, around 5,000 trained police personnel are still serving as orderlies at the houses of IPS officers across the State, the letter said.
