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| PHQ takes back illegally held orderlies from retd officers | | A few others voluntarily surrender "official" servants | | Bharat Bhushan
Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 19: Otherwise unwilling to radical reforms and taking action against the guilty officers, police headquarters (PHQ) is learnt to have taken back illegally held orderlies from some retired senior officers, including DGPs. The process to this effect was initiated by PHQ after the May 21 Early Times page 1 report -- Sr cops princely lifestyles cost state exchequer.
A few others have voluntarily surrendered their official servants who had unauthorisedly been retained by them for the past several years, according to a senior officer posted at PHQ.
An ex-DGP, who belongs to Jammu and retired nearly two decades back, also returned a fourth class police employee, who worked as his domestic help since his retirement. A non-state subject DGP, who attained superannuation 12-13 years back and has been putting up in a rented accommodation in a city locality, returned at least three orderlies to the department, the officer said.
Another retired DGP, an ADGP and an IGP also returned one orderly each. Another non-state subject J&K DGP, who got settled in Delhi after retirement from a central force about a decade back, had illegally retained a few attendants of J&K police with him. He returned one a few days back but the PHQ, again showering undue favours on him, sent him back to the ex-DGP, the officer informed.
Two to three orderlies were taken back from at least three DIGs of police, he informed.
It is so surprising to find that almost all the retired police officer (DSPs and above) have been enjoying the princely lifestyles in the state at the cost of the state exchequer but the government, which still is short of the requisite number of police personnel to fight militants and maintain law and order, is yet to take any cognizance of it. Apart from the orderlies, they have also illegally retained police vehicles and get free petrol from the department. "None of them is, however, entitled to such princely benefits," the officer said.
The unlawfully retained orderlies cook food for them, clean their houses, polish shoes of family members, serve as drivers of their children and wives and do other menial jobs. They work as servants of these retired "princes" but draw salaries from the police department.
The officer said a retired DSP, who lives in an old city area, had retained an army of police servants with him but PHQ had never dared to take them back from him. For "unknown" reasons, he has remained close to all the IPS officers who rose to the rank of DGPs in the state while he gradually rose from a Sub-Inspector to the rank of a DSP.
If the average income of an orderly is taken as Rs 15,000, the total income of five orderlies is Rs 75,000. With the pension of a few thousand rupees, a retired police officer cannot afford to waste Rs 75,000 on servants but he has been spending this "whopping" amount of money without any regret. Courtesy: J&K government.
While the orderlies get salaries from the government treasury, they work in the houses of retired police officers. This is ridiculous and can probably happen only in J&K, the second most corrupt state in the country.
Though all in police department know that the retired officers are not authorised to retain the "army" of orderlies, they continue to have them and utilise their services in violation of rules.
"PHQ has taken the issue seriously and issued a circular, directing the orderlies serving with the retired police officers to report back or face action. If they don't report back to their respective police wings, their salaries for will not be released," the officer said, quoting the circular.
"The shortage of orderlies, as reflected in the police audit report, is mainly because several of them are working at the residences of retired police officers for the past several years," he added, saying, "Rule does not permit them to retain orderlies after retirement."
"Though the J&K's fiscal health is not so good and it depends mainly on the Centre for its several projects, the princely lifestyles of many of its retired and serving police officers at the cost of state exchequer are making it poorer," he said.
What to talk of orderlies, many serving and retired police officers of the rank of district SPs and above even continue to make misuse of official vehicles in violation of rules. It is the duty of PHQ to take notice of such matters and ensure that no one gets more than his actual entitlement but it has miserably failed to perform its this duty.
As per rule, a serving district SP is entitled to keep with him only one car and a Maruti Gypsy. While DIG too cannot keep more than a car and a Gypsy, range IGP is authorised to have one car and two Gypsies. But those, posted in militancy affected zones, can carry with them additional squad vehicles for their protection.
But these norms are not being followed by most of the police officers. While some district SPs allegedly had four-plus vehicles, some DIGs and IGPs had six to seven vehicles and an equal number of orderlies, the officer said.
The additional vehicles were being used by their family members. Petrol for them was also being issued by police, he alleged.
Some commandants of armed battalions too had allegedly retained official vehicles for domestic use, the officer said.
The battalions also had trucks, which were being used to transport cement, saria and other household items by some commandants, he alleged and added that a police officer (now retired) had used a police truck to carry cement and saria from a godown at Paloura to his residence somewhere at Bhatindi.
The officer said the flagrant misuse of official vehicles and fuel by this lot of officers was going on unnoticed for the past several years. They were really a burden on the state exchequer, he added.
He said Maruti cars, vans and other vehicles of a police wing were too being used by some officers for their personal use.
Some officers, who were posted in Kashmir but had their houses in Jammu, too had unlawfully retained official vehicles and orderlies for their families, he informed.
The officer felt that there was an urgent need of initiating austerity measures in police and use the money thus saved for the welfare of lower ranks and their families. |
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