No bonus, offs this Diwali; cops disgruntled

This Diwali will not bring much cheer to cops. While the city will be immersed in the festive mood, men in khaki will be reluctantly taking part in the battle against antisocial elements. Their lack of motivation is because they have not been paid Diwali bonus nor salary for working on holidays and weekly offs.

As many as 7,000 cops in the city are still waiting for payment for working on a holiday. One police constable, who wished to remain anonymous, told DNA that he had not received payment for working on a holiday or weekly off for the past  six months. Moreover, the constable has not taken leave since the last six months.

According to the police manual, a policeman is entitled to six weekly offs in a month and government holidays. If he works on a holiday or his weekly off he is entitled to claim double pay for that day.

For instance, a constable’s monthly salary is Rs15,000 (Rs500 per day) and if he works on a holiday, he has to be paid Rs1000 for that day. “Almost every police official from the city is awaiting payment for working on a weekly off,” a head constable said.

However, the director general of police, Gujarat state, Chitranjan Singh, said the delay is mainly due to incomplete paper work by the cops themselves. “We have enough funds and want to clear the dues as soon as possible, but we cannot do this due to incomplete paper work,” he said.
Despite several attempts the additional director general of police, administration, AK Singh, was not available for comment.