Retiring police officers to be exempted from election duty

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: As Assembly elections are fast approaching, the Karnataka police department has decided to exempt retiring policemen including DySPs, ACPs and inspectors from duty during elections.

As per sources from the department, the decision was taken considering the age and retirement of cops, and because they may sometimes “suffer” biased attitudes. The police department, which has started training for the Assembly elections, has already procured reports from the district superintendents of police about the situation in the districts.

Also, State Director General of Police (DG & IGP) Praveen Sood has received information from the respective Police Commissioners and District SPs about the policemen who are on the verge of retirement. Based on this report, the DGP has proposed to relieve DySP/ ACPs, Inspectors, SubInspectors and Assistant Inspectors from duty.

Police security on the day of election is very important, from the installation of polling booths to the declaration of results, in particular, the police have a greater responsibility to prevent irregularities during elections such as distribution of money, alcohol and gifts. It will be a challenging task for the police to ensure that no untoward incident takes place and conduct the election peacefully.

On Monday, If the DGP approves the assignment of policemen to election duties on the basis of age, some policemen will be reassigned. DySPs and Inspectors will be transferred by ADGP Administration while PSIs will be transferred by respective Zonal IGPs and DIGs.