Hyderabad: Over 1,200 home guards who gathered at a private hospital to demand that the government take action against officers responsible for the death of their colleague M. Ravinder were warned of action and told to disperse.
“Our commandants and senior officials warned us not to protest and attend out duties. Otherwise action would be taken against us,” a home guard said. At the morgue only a dozen persons were seen but they were also asked to leave the place, he said.
Sources said after the Special Branch came to know of Ravinder’s death, Home Guard Association president Sakala Narayana was taken into custody. “We had gone to console the family members of our batchmate. The law and order police dispersed us for no reason,” said a home guard, Mohammed Sikandar.
Later, Home Guards Association members in a representation requested the Chief Minister to give them permanent jobs, medical insurance and pension upon retirement.
Home guards said that they are frontline workers in support of the police department but are paid only '28,000 per month with no medical benefits.
Even a food delivery executive gets '1.5 lakh insurance. “Despite several requests to the Chief Minister who had announced in the Assembly five years ago that our services would be made permanent, nothing has been done,” said Sikander.
“The home guard is exploited by the civil police and is compelled to work at odd hours; there is no time limit for his duty,” said his colleague V. Vinakar.
“When there is a traffic jam anywhere in the city, only one home guard clears the jam within a few minutes as he is always on the field and is well experienced,” said M. Srikanth, home guard.
Some home guards who didn’t want their names to be mentioned told Deccan Chronicle that a few top police officers had over five to six home guards at their house and do domestic chores. “If they resist, their services would be terminated,” one of them said.
