POLICE: WE ARE HUMANS TOO

Constable Brij Bhushan shot dead while trying to catch car thieves in Delhi.
Understaffed policemen attacked by a mob in Seelampur.
New Delhi: It’s not an easy job to do - long hours, on your feet, in the line of fire. And, getting paid just Rs 20 to keep their khaki clean and crisp.
Raju is a police constable, working on a North Delhi beat. On average, he works 15 hours a day - a number that rises during the festival season. So, what’s his reward?
“This salary is not enough for the kind of hours we are putting in the service. There are not enough houses. Our HRA is not enough for a place like Delhi,” he says.
CNN-IBN filed a Right to Information petition in three states - Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana - to get a status check on the constable’s salaries.
Take-home salaries for a constable range between Rs 6532 in Uttar Pradesh to Rs 8550 a month in Delhi.
A Delhi constable gets a generous ration allowance – Rs 722. A Haryana constable gets Rs 300.
A uniform is a must. To maintain and keep it clean, the Delhi government pays a princely sum of Rs 20 a month. This rises by a Rs 10 in Uttar Pradesh.
“Rs 30 is what we get as the washing allowance per month. That is used up in buying one soap,” says a constable.
Director General of Police Research and Development Bureau, Kiran Bedi sheds light on the problem. “In case of unclaimed bodies etc, there is a contingency fund, but its not disbursed properly, so policemen have to pay from their own pockets,” she says.
A Delhi constable is entitled to a cycle allowance of only Rs 30 a month. Motorcyles and scooters are for sub-inspectors.
There has also been no revision in salaries since 1996.
“Things are stuck between the demands of the home and finance ministries. But we are trying our level best to expedite the process,” says Home Secretary V K Duggal.
While one might be forced to think the abysmal salaries is a justification for taking bribes, but the financial duress under which these policemen work is a signal that the government needs to put in place a system where the remnants of colonial high-headedness are wiped out.