Sanction weekly off for police personnel, orders Pratap Reddy

“Senior officials must take appropriate action to avoid any kind of mental torture to these personnel”

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Reiterating welfare measures that need to be taken up for the “overworked” policemen, city Police Commissioner CH Pratap Reddy on Monday instructed in-charge senior officers to ensure that policemen get a day off every week.

Despite the state Director General & Inspector General (DG & IGP) of Police Praveen Sood issuing a memo last year, repeated complaints have reportedly been reaching the Bengaluru Police Commissioner’s office that station house officers have not been allowing policemen to avail their weekly holiday.

As per sources, one such anonymous letter was brought to the notice of the city top cop recently, which requested him to reduce a policeman’s duty hours to 8 hours from the prevailing 12 hours a day, considering the “failing physical and professional health” of policemen.

Following this, Commissioner Reddy instructed senior police officers to sanction weekly holidays “without fail except under emergency situations”. “Senior officials must take appropriate action to avoid any kind of mental torture to these personnel. Their grievances must be heard and responded to immediately,” he said.

Last year, DG & IGP Praveen Sood had ordered that a week off that could not be provided due to emergency situations like bandobast, election duty or natural calamities, the incharge officer should compensate with allowance or with an alternate day off to the policeman concerned.

Police personnel from the state are habituated to work without rest for long periods due to a shortage of staff. To help them to relax and enjoy family life, similar orders, even before Praveen Sood’s order, making one day a holiday every week compulsory for them, but was not being strictly followed.