THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The circular issued by State Police Chief Loknath Behera instructing police personnel to secure the “Covid Warrior tag” as part of the reward for police personnel who had excelled in Covid duty by depositing Rs 100 has drawn flak. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters that the move has not come to his attention.
As per the statistics available with the police, a total of 52,000 police personnel were involved in Covid duty. If all these personnel deposit `100 each, the total amount will come to `52 lakh.The state police purchased the material for the tag from a private company based in Ludhiana. The DGP’s circular issued on August 17 stated that the officers of all ranks who had completed 30 days’ duties will be rewarded with Covid warrior tag. However, the new circular issued on Tuesday invited widespread criticism that the police department demanded money for the reward from its own personnel.