HOME GUARDS MADE TO DO DOMESTIC PERSONAL HOUSEHOLD WORK BY POLICE OFFICERS

PANJIM: In what could be sheer misuse of Government machinery, Home Guards (HGs), an elite force par with Police, are made to mop the floor at officer’s residences as part of their duty.  It has been revealed that many HGs are performing odd job of sweeper, dhobi, cook, barber and even working at residences of police officers.

Alone in Vasco division, out of 72 HGs, two HGs – Maruti Shinde and Rafiq Bagwale work as ‘sweepers’ and Narshima Goramtla is ‘dhobi’, at Vasco police station from January 2008 onwards.  The rest are deployed for patrolling, traffic duty, security and picket and reserve duties at Vasco – Mormugao and Verna police stations, Vasco railway station, Sada sub-jail, Dabolim airport and other places.

The information further reveals that the profile of jobs of many HGs out of 130 HGs in the Margao division is shown as ‘emergency duty,’ which is vague as the kind of duty is not specified. The job profile is classified as ‘dhobi and other emergency duty’, ‘barber and other emergency duty’, ‘office and emergency duty’, ‘sweeper and emergency duty’, ‘police station and emergency duty’, ‘driving duty’, ‘W/L station and emergency duty’, ‘office and emergency duty’ and ‘traffic and emergency duty.’

Sources stated that other HGs in rest of the divisions also face similar humiliation, though some are lucky enough to have roles assigned as per HG Compendium of Instruction 2004.

One of the Home Guard rule says that they are ‘to promote communal harmony and give help to the administration in protecting weaker sections of the society’.  If this was not enough, the HGs are also deployed at residences of police officers and ministers for their domestic work.

Gopinath Parab, who joined the services in 1992 is presently deployed as ‘Orderly to police inspector Bicholim’ while Jaganath Gaonkar, another HG in Ponda division is posted at DySP Mohan Naik’s residence since 2008.  What is even more interesting is that certain HGs are made to work at residences of State top brass including Director General of Police, Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police.

DGP incidentally is also the Commandant General of Home Guards. The information undersigned by Company Commander John Aguair for Panjim division has revealed that HG Ramdas Dharne has worked in the house of IGP and DIG between January 2008 and July 2009 after which he was shunted to GRP Camp.

HG Santosh Gaonkar is working at the DGP house since January 2009 onwards even as the profile of work is not explained in the information copy.

Adding to the number of HG ‘workers’ at the residences of the influential police officers, one each HG cook, sweeper and gardener are posted at the residences of DGP and IGP since May 2009.

The information mentions their place of posting as ‘DGP (R) IGP (R) GRP Camp, Altinho.’ Furthermore, another HG was allotted to a High Court public prosecutor (name is not disclosed in the copy) in 2009. The Panjim division comprises of around 227 HGs.

Speaking to SP (Home Guards) Vaman Tari said that since HGs are a voluntary organisation, they are deputed at places ‘according to their willingness.’

He claimed that they are not forced to carry out any tasks. “Infact, they chose their jobs whether it is in traffic, law and order, police stations, patrolling or even sweeping or moving files from one place to another.”

Another senior officer wishing anonymity said that since Goa Police lacks personnel to perform low-profile jobs, HGs are then roped-in. DGP Bhim Sain Bassi and police spokesperson Atmaram Deshpande were however not available for comments. (HD)