Twenty-eight -year-old Shyamala was shouting at the top of her voice, calling Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) eighth battalion RI names for rejecting the leave application of her husband. Even as her husband pleaded with him, the RI refused to talk to him over the matter, she said.
“My two-year-old baby was suffering from fever. I live with my baby at the police quarters while my husband is working as AR constable in East Godavari district. He applied for leave for three days a few days ago. But, the RI rejected it stating all leaves were cancelled. I myself took the baby to nearby hospital,” she fumed.
When another constable, G Shanker, applied for sick leave one month ago, his boss at the eighth battalion abused him in filthy language.
A few days after 2004 batch Phani Kumar , who was posted at Rampachodavaram in East Godavari district, died due to ill health, wives of AR constables, who live in police quarters in the city protested on Saturday against the attitude of higher officials who denied leave for their husbands deliberately.
For the second consecutive day on Sunday, a number of family members and wives of constables staged a dharna at the main gate of the eight battalion office at Kondapur in the city.
Demanding cancellation of orderly system, the family members of AR constables alleged that APSP eighth battalion commandant Ramesh Naidu and Inspector General (IG) Venkateswar Rao are harassing constables without sanctioning leaves.
Earlier, the constables are posted within 200 km from their headquarters. It used to be not much of a problem since the distance was not much. They used to get three days leave in a month, which was enough for their family reunion. “After Venkateswar Rao and Ramesh Naidu took charge as IG and commandant respectively, they started denying leaves to constables,’’ said a constable at the protest camp at Kondapur.
As many as six companies are working under the eighth battalion and each company has 120 personnel, who are posted at different places in the state. “My husbands has been posted far off from the headquarters and the officials provided accommodation to us in the city. If constables ask leave to meet their family members, officials reject the applications,’’ Shyamala said.
Tension prevailed when a constable of Madhapur police station was beaten up by the agitators when he was recording video footage of theprotest. Madhapur deputy commissioner of police (DCP) T Yoganand and others rescued the constable and shifted him from the place.
When a vehicle in which IG Venkateswar Rao was travelling reached to the main gate of the eighth battalion, the protestors threw slippers at it.
An irate house wife, Sarada Devi, said that a few days ago, AR constable Phini Kumar died due to ill health. The eighth battalion officials shifted his body to his native place of Chittoor without informing his wife who was living in the police quarters along with her two daughters. “Phani Kumar died due to negligence of the inspector who failed to provide proper medical care to him,’’ said an agitator.
Family members of 1st battalion constables staged dharna at Yousufguda checkpost against orderly system.