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Bihar DGP says strike "illegal"

Soroor Ahmed in Patna

Bihar Director General of Police K A Jacob today dubbed the decision of 18,000 inspectors, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors in the state to go on a week-long mass-casual-leave as "illegal" and said alternate arrangements had been made.

Home Secretary U N Panjiar on his part threatened that the striking police officials could face disciplinary action.

The junior police officers' strike, seventh such stir in the past 11 years in Bihar, is likely to affect work in 1,216 police stations across the state.

Though the state government has temporarily promoted havildars to the rank of assistant sub-inspectors and authorised them to lodge FIRs, this is not going to be of much help. The Bihar Military Police, Home Guards and retired police officials too have been pressed into service maintain law and order.

The strike's impact is likely to be felt more in the insurgency-hit central Bihar.

The state government held four rounds of talks with the office-bearers of the Bihar Police Association, which is spearheading the strike. Two rounds of talks were held on Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the strike.

The BPA general secretary K K Jha said the strike would not be withdrawn till their demands, which include payment of Rs 2.5 lakh as compensation to policemen killed in encounters with extremists and restoration of the Rs 500 vehicle allowance, were met.

The state government, meanwhile, has alleged that the police association is needlessly politicising the issue. It claims that there already exists a provision to pay compensation to policemen killed in skirmishes with insurgents.

Jha, however, cites a number of examples where the compensation was not paid.

A quick appraisal of the strikes in the past 11 years reveals that the BPA unerringly chose to go on strike when the state most needed the services of its members.

The last time Bihar cops went on strike was when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was visiting the state. In 1990 they went on strike on three occasions. First in January on the eve of assembly elections, then in July just four months after Laloo Prasad Yadav assumed power in Patna and then again in October.

EARLIER REPORT
18,000 Bihar policemen to cease work

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