IG takes 70 cops for own work, 5 escape, 1 files case

Constable complained that they had been toiling without leave to build the boundary wall of IG’s farmhouse since last July

It is common knowledge that constables often do menial jobs at the homes of senior officers. Fetching children from schools and buying vegetables are all part of their “duties”, and no one bats an eyelid. However, a senior IPS officer from Madhya Pradesh has recently been accused of taking things a bit too far after he allegedly “deployed” 70 constables to construct a massive boundary wall and barrack-like structures at his farmhouse in neighbouring Rajasthan.

Five among the 70 constables escaped from their alleged confinement in Dondi village near Madhavgard in Alwar district last month and one of them lodged a complaint against IG (Special Armed Forces), K L Meena. A bailable warrant was issued against the IG and head constable Ramkaran Meena, under whose charge the constables were taken to the farmhouse. DG (SAF) Pramod Sharma told The Sunday Express on Saturday that an inquiry had been ordered and that he was yet to see the court order.

As IG of Gwalior Range, seven battalions of the SAF, deployed in Gwalior, Shivpuri, Datia and Guna, report to Meena, who is based in Gwalior. The SAF is used on special occasions like anti-dacoity or anti-Naxalite operations or deployed to assist the local police to maintain law and order.

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Keshav Singh, attached to the 2nd Battalion, was one of the five constables who fled the farmhouse. He alleged in his complaint that the constables had been toiling at the farmhouse since July last year. They were not allowed to take leave and were on occasions intimidated, he alleged.

The constables couriered copies of their alleged ordeal to the police headquarters in Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh State Human Rights Commission on March 30. They moved court only as a last resort after the local police refused to register the complaint against Meena, advocate B B Shivhare said.

According to Singh, the constables constructed a 2,400-feet-long and five-feet-high boundary wall for the sprawling farmhouse. The constables also took turns to cook.

On paper though they were still deployed in the Gwalior Range. Shivhare alleged the constables were threatened with dismissal when they questioned the 1985 batch officer.

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Even after reaching Gwalior, not all the five constables could gather the courage to complain. Shivhare said the court relied on two eyewitnesses, Raghuvir Singh and Mataprasad, while taking cognizance of the complaint lodged under Sections 374, 344, 323, 506 and 166 of the Indian Penal Code. He claimed Singh was in hiding because he feared for his life.

The court has posted the hearing for May 11. Shivhare claimed following the case, all constables working in the farmhouse had been asked to disperse. The boundary wall and the barracks, though, remained, he claimed.