Exclusive: KSRP staff forced to wash, iron boss’ wife’s clothes
FollowThe Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) seem to have their duties mixed up. If you work for the police force in the state as a Group D worker, turns out, you have to iron the boss’s wife’s petticoats, in addition to helping your boss look spiffy in uniform and help maintain law and order in the state!
"This is very humiliating. We are supposed to serve the officers only when they are in uniform. But here, no rules are followed and we are forced to even wash and iron undergarments, bras, you name it. We can’t complain as we will be harassed and our promotions will be denied," a worker, on conditions of anonymity, said.
As evidence, a source from KSRP shared exclusive footage of Group D personnel ironing a petticoat and also a sari of a senior official’s wife at the KSRP office premises.
This allegation comes close on the heels of a . An FIR against the Commandant has been lodged post the revelation and the State Human Rights Commission has also taken up the case.
T Narasimha Murthy, a human rights activist who has filed a complaint against KSRP senior officials on the manual scavenging, lashed out at the treatment meted out to Group D employees.
"We have information of such treatment. Sweepers, cooks, bearers, dhobi, followers and water carriers are supposed to serve senior officers only when they are on duty and in uniform but here these poor workers are made to work overtime. What is worse, they are forced to serve family members and even friends of senior officials," he says.
As per RTI documents obtained by newsable.com, at the KSRP 4th Battalion, 92 Group D workers were recruited for a battalion of 1,000 policemen of which 73 serve senior police officials and their ‘personal’ needs.
They are doing this because a constable was trapped by the Lokayukta for demanding a bribe from one of the officials last year. Now, to avenge that humiliation, the group (of Group 4 workers) is doing this.
Sudha Katwa, a human rights activist, says, “The police department says that is facing staff shortage. If such workers are forced to serve family members there will obviously be a shortage of men at KSRP and existing personnel will be overloaded with work.”
FB Revannanaver, Commandant of the 4th Battalion, however, has denied any such practice. He has said that the KSRP Group D workers have pretended to iron saris and film that because they are on a mission. “They are doing this because a constable was trapped by the Lokayukta for demanding a bribe from one of the officials last year. Now, to avenge that humiliation, the group (of Group 4 workers) is doing this,” he said.
Karnataka State Human Rights Chairperson Meera Saxsena who had inspected the KSRP 4th battalion premises following newsable.com’s manual scavenging report, said, "If there is any other type of human rights violation, the KSRP personnel have to send us a written complaint. Further steps will be taken based on that," she said.
