India News | Chhattisgarh: Lower Rank Bijapur Cops Protest over Kin Getting Manhandled During Raipur Stir

Bijapur, Dec 9 (PTI) Police personnel from the lower ranks protested in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district over the alleged manhandling of their family members during a stir in capital Raipur, officials said on Thursday.

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The protest in Bijapur started on Wednesday with visuals from the site showing assistant constables, who comprise a large part of the frontline formation in the fight against Naxalism in Bastar, leaving their weapons aside before staging a 'dharna' near the office of the Superintendent of Police.

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On Monday, the families of cops from the lower ranks from different parts of the state had reached Raipur in a bid to gherao the police headquarter (PHQ) in Nava Raipur demanding promotions, higher salaries and better work conditions, including compassionate appointments and weekly-offs.

Their bid to march to the PHQ was thwarted by security personnel, with those participating in the stir being detained at a school with the help of a mild cane charge, some of the women protesters had said. Police officials in Raipur had, however, denied the reports of detention as well as cane charge.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel ordered that a committee headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Himanshu Gupta be set up to address their demands.

Ujjawal Diwan, who is leading the protest of the kin of police personnel, told PTI over phone that the protest in Raipur was called off after the CM announced the setting up of the committee to address 45 demands.

"But around 1,000 jawans in Bijapur have sat on protest since Wednesday over treatment meted out to their families during the stir in Raipur. I will reach Bijapur tonight and talk to the protesting jawans," he said.

A large number of assistant constables and 'gopniya sainiks' (secret troopers), including women, were seen at the protest site in Bijapur on Thursday evening.

A woman assistant constable said, “Why were our family members assaulted by police in Raipur (during their protest on Monday)? If the police themselves do not understand the pain of their colleagues' families, then who will.”

Another lower rank policeman said he and others were getting just Rs 15,000 per month despite taking part in the fight against Naxalism, adding that this amount must be hiked and they must be made constables.

These lower rank personnel are recruited from local tribal youth and surrendered Maoists in Bastar division, with most of them being part of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a frontline anti-Naxal unit.

Bijapur SP Kamlochan Kashyap had reached the protest site on Wednesday evening but could not succeed in persuading the protesters to return to duty.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)