Roy treated everyone as an equal: operator

“I don’t know many IPS officers who speak so politely to their juniors,” police constable Rupesh Kadam, who worked as an operator for Additional Director General Himanshu Roy, said on Saturday.

Mr. Kadam was posted as Roy’s operator after the officer was transferred from the Maharashta Anti Terrorism Squad to the Maharashtra State Police Housing and Welfare Corporation in 2015. Mr. Kadam was mainly required to relay messages for Roy on the police wireless network and provide any other assistance needed.

Though disturbed by Roy’s unfortunate and abrupt demise, Mr. Kadam said he had nothing but fond memories of his former boss. “Roy sir was such a senior and accomplished officer, but always addressed me as tumhi (the respectful term for ‘you’ in Marathi). It was the first thing I noticed about him, and it elevated my respect for him. I was literally among the junior-most policemen working for him, and he never made me feel that way,” Mr. Kadam said.

The constable retained his posting as Roy’s orderly after the IPS officer was transferred as ADG Establishment in November 2016. “He was already on sick leave by the time and I did not have too many interactions with him. However, in all the years that I had the honour of knowing him, he never made a big deal out of seniority or authority, and treated everyone as an equal. Officers like him are rare.”