Only a day’s wages for cop’s bereaved family
Pulkit Vasudha
Ahmedabad, November 13 If their father had returned home from patrolling on November 8, nine-year-old Kiran and five-year-old Jaydeep would have celebrated Diwali the next day. But that was not to be. Vinay Yadav (32) was shot dead by two miscreants when he was keeping a vigil in the vicinity of LG Hospital.
“It is at times like this that we feel the gnawing need for a strong and active union, which could have not just provided emergency care for Yadav’s family but also secured a government job for his wife and education for the kids,” says Naresh Brahmbhatt, the president of the Assistant Sub-Inspector and Head-Constable Association of Gujarat.
“Though the law and order in Gujarat is strong, the custodians of law and order are fighting a daily battle for dignity,” says Brahmbhatt.
The woes of the police employees’ unions have been an endless saga of struggle for 18 long years. The unions were denied recognition by the state government in 1989. The matter had been pending in court for 16 years before it was finally heard in 2006. In its judgment, the high court of Gujarat clearly stated that forming unions and holding meetings was a constitutional right.
“Though meetings were organised in the major districts of the state, the union was derecognised by the then DGP PC Pandey in September 2007 citing flippant reasons. The matter is pending in court,” says Kanti Parmar, the President of the Police Constable Association in Gujarat.
Source: Indian Express