Chennai: In the wake of family members of police personnel planning to lay siege to Fort St George on July 6, 7 and 8 when the demand for grants for police department will be taken up for discussion, state DGP T. K. Rajendran has issued orders asking the police force to report for duty on all the three days without fail in their offices at 8.30 am.
“It is informed that all unit offices should be functioning on the said dates (Thursday to Saturday) and none should abstain from duty on these days. Further all staff of your control are instructed to attend the office at 8.30 am on the said dates without fail. Any deviation will be viewed seriously,” said DGP's letter addressed to all commissioners, all range DIG, all districts SP and all heads of special units.
The order from the top cop is viewed as a deterrent for police persons who are planning to send their family members to Fort St George, to meet CM and hand over their petition of demands.
Top brass in the force want to make sure police personnel are not accompanying their families in their plan to reach Fort St George.
Intelligence sources however brushed aside the possibility of police families reaching Fort St George. “We don't expect families trying to meet CM on those days,” an officer noted.
The demands include 8 hours duty for police personnel, mandatory weekly off, filling up vacancies in law and order wing, abolition of orderly system, recognition for Tamil Nadu constabulary association and inclusion of demands from the police personnel in the 7th pay commission recommendations.
On June 22 a poster, which detailed the grievances of police personnel in Tamil Nadu calling up on members of police families to reach state secretariat on July 6 to submit a petition to CM, had appeared on the walls of AR camp in St Thomas Mount.
Though the poster was removed by afternoon, it created ripples in the police circle and two days later DGP had issued a circular to all commissioners of police, superintendents of police and heads of all units asking them to keep an watch on ‘disgruntled’ elements in the police force who had called up on their family members to meet the chief minister on July 6.
