Wives take up cudgels for constables

Overworked without leave, police constables finally had someone to speak out for them - their wives, hundreds of whom picketed the office of the Eighth Battalion of the AP Special Police (APSP) at Kondapur near Hyderabad on Saturday, demanding leave for their husbands.

The trigger for their protest was the recent death of an APSP constable in East Godavari district. Posted to the forests of Rampachodavaram, Phani Kumar died after allegedly being denied leave. The women at the protest Saturday said Kumar had begged his superiors for time to attend to his medical problems but was not allowed to go. However, APSP officials refuted that version.

Converging at the Eighth Battalion office at 11.30 Saturday morning, wives of constables hunkered down for a vehement protest against the harsh conditions in which their husbands have to work. They accused police officers of going to cruel lengths to deprive constables of even a few days’ leave.

“It’s been months since my husband came home. He could not come home even when our children were ill. The big officers don’t care to listen to his pleas,” said Lakshmi, married to a constable, Narasimha Rao.

Many of the women alleged that superior officers extract bribes from constables to given them leave. ‘’If bribes are paid, officials grant leave for up to a week,” said Sarada, a constable’s wife. “Some officers take bribes of `1,000 just to give a few days’ leave.”

Battalion commandant Ramesh Naidu and a few other officials were subjected to particularly severe barracking. When a policeman in mufti tried to record the protest on video, he got a taste of the women’s wrath. They swarmed around him and gave him a sound thrashing.

Their wrath cooled only after APSP inspector-general (IG) A B Venkateswara Rao promised that constables would be given three days’ leave per month. Also, their wives would be given telephones to talk to them when posted long distances away. Home minister P Sabita Indra Reddy sought a report on the protest.