The Times of India
written by Prafulla Marpakwar
Tuesday October 15, 2013
MUMBAI - A week after chief minister Prithviraj Chavan reduced the security cover of senior cabinet members, leading politicians and high-profile industrialists, Mumbai police commissioner Satya Pal Singh was quick to cancel the deputation of 400 constables and make them available for the security and safety of the aam admi. The question now is whether Chavan and home minister R R Patil will withdraw the 2,600-odd police personnel deployed at the residences of 280 IPS officers across the state.
At least seven to ten constables are deployed at the residence of an Indian Police Service officer, a senior IPS officer said. If this number is reduced, the state will get enough policemen to fill up at least 10 to 15 police stations, a senior NCP cabinet minister said.
Another IPS officer said, "I am shocked that so many constables are deployed. Occasionally I feel we are still in the British Raj. It's high time Chavan and Patil cut the numbers."
The officer said that in the case of commissioners and superintendents of police, there are, in addition to the seven-to-ten constables, three to four orderlies, one cook and two or three telephone runners and two drivers.
"Many officers have even more staffers, depending on their influence. In Pune, a high-ranking officer in the prisons department had 15-20 constables at his official residence," the officer said.
What was more shocking, the officer said, was that the staff remained the same even if the officer were to be shifted to another city, and even after an officer retired, the police personnel continued to serve him for a period ranging from three months to a year.
While home minister R R Patil did not respond to an SMS sent by TOI, a senior home department official said it was necessary to review this deployment.
"There should be no objection if the personnel are deployed for the security of the police officer, but there should be no misuse. It has been observed that most constables are utilized for the IPS officer's personal work," the official said.
The senior NCP minister said he would take up the matter with Chavan and Patil. "For the last three years, the threat perception committee was insisting on a cut in the cover for politicians. Chavan accepted the recommendations. The committee should also review the police personnel deployed at the residence of IPS officers," he said.
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