Hyderabad: Hyderabad police has issued a memo asking its men to take leave if they observe ‘Ayyappa Deeksha.’ They will not be allowed to wear black dress and grow their beard and hair while on duty.
Though other zones have not issued the memo so far this year, Central Zone DCP Kamalasan Reddy has circulated it in his zone. Senior officials said that it is a matter of discipline of the police force and this restriction has been there since the inception of the department. The memo issued on November 25 in Central Zone said that no permission can be issued for growing a beard for religious purpose to any member of the disciplined force like the police.
“Permission cannot be accorded to police personnel to perform duties without wearing prescribed uniform, shoes and other clothing articles. If any police personnel wants to observe Deeksha of Swami Ayyappa, they can ask for leave to do so,” said the memo. “All the Inspectors and ACPs of Central Zone are hereby instructed not to entertain applications from their subordinates for such permission and to inform the officer and men working under their control,” continued the memo.
Senior officials said that this is an older memo renewed every year and not an anti religious step. “It concerns the discipline of the force, because wearing black dress with brown hair and beard, and without shoes, is inappropriate for a police officer on duty,” said a senior police official from Hyderabad. Another senior official added that crowd control, patrolling, and other duties of cops cannot be performed in black dress.
However, the order has not gone down well with the officers, who wanted to observe deeksha. Some have said that the department cannot curb their personal choices on religion. Meanwhile, sources in Cyberabad said that senior officials are a little soft on this particular issue. Senior officials have allowed men to have ‘half Deeksha’ during duty. “They have to wear uniform, but having a beard and avoiding shoes are allowed,” an official said.
Similar memos were earlier issued by the police department in previous years. In 2012, controversy was kicked up and the then Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy had said the department should go soft on the issue.
