End of Boot Polish Raj
Sukhbir Singh Badal recalls policemen misused as domestics in VIP homes
About 2,800 policemen— the strength of three battalions— deployed as cooks, drivers, gardeners and even masseurs in VIP households across Punjab have been ordered back to the barracks. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal recalled the personnel after he was informed of the blatant misuse of trained policemen ostensibly posted on security detail. This is the biggest security review undertaken in the state since militancy took root here in the early 1980s. Badal, who is also the state’s home minister, said 1,800 policemen have already been recalled. “I have just signed orders to withdraw another 1,000,” he told INDIA TODAY on May 23.
On March 6, Badal asked Director General of Police ( DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini to conduct a review of VIP security. He found over 8,000 policemen, more than one- tenth of the 70,000- strong state police force, are deployed to protect individuals and families. Inspector General ( Security) Sanjiv Kalra says there are more than 2,000 ‘ protectees’ ( people with police protection). Besides political leaders, senior bureaucrats and police officers, the ‘ protectees’ include many private individuals.
“I realised these men were no longer needed for protection. They had become fashionable status symbols,” says Badal. He has asked Saini to organise two- month refresher courses for the policemen who have been recalled. Defeated Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira, who lost his gunmen, says it is pick- and- choose typical of the Akali- BJP government. But Badal has also cut security details of former BJP minister Tikshan Sud, Akali Dal leaders Sarabjit Makkar and Bikramjit Khalsa, besides former Congress minister Harnam Das Johar. They will all have leaner protection now, hopefully without the possibility of misuse.