BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate Police was left red faced on Friday after pictures of a PCR van personnel brandishing his gun to disperse protestors went viral on social media.Acting on information that some contractual sanitation workers were protesting at Jaydev Vihar under Nayapalli police limits over non-payment of salaries, PCR-18 rushed to the spot.
The protestors burnt tyres demanding release of their salaries. After the PCR van reached the spot, a havildar took out his gun and asked them to call off their protests and leave the area.Sources said the workers were supposed to receive last month’s salary between April 1 and 10. But they are yet to receive it. They had also met the officials concerned on Thursday evening demanding their pending salaries be released.
“We will seek information from PCR van personnel as to what prompted him to take out the weapon. Further step will be taken accordingly,” Bhubaneswar DCP Anup Sahu said.Police said the protestors had not informed them about their agitation beforehand. The sudden protests led to traffic chaos in the area. The PCR van personnel rushed to the spot to disperse them and regulate traffic. The havildar took out the gun fearing that the protestors might snatch it from him, police said.