Hyderabad : Wives of police constables from the Telangana State Special Police (TSSP) battalions were arrested on Friday while attempting to stage a protest at the State Secretariat, advocating for fair treatment of their husbands.
The women, some carrying their children, tried to advance towards the Secretariat but were stopped by police and taken into custody.
Family members of police constables have been protesting at their respective battalions for several days, demanding the implementation of the ‘Ek Police’ system, which calls for uniform rules and regulations for all police personnel. They are seeking equitable treatment and solutions for issues faced by their husbands, particularly regarding exhausting work schedules.
One pregnant wife of a police constable expressed her frustration to media representatives during the protest, stating that her husband could not accompany her for a medical scan.
Tensions escalated recently when about 20 police constables from the 12th Battalion in Nalgonda district were suspended after their wives protested on Police Commemoration Day on October 21.
In the past week, the wives and children of police constables have taken to the streets in Nalgonda, Ditchpally, and Sircilla, demanding justice and equality for their husbands. They chanted slogans aimed at eliminating disparities within the police department.
The battalion constables often face challenging assignments yet are frequently excluded from career advancement opportunities within the civil police framework. Protesters highlighted that their husbands are compelled to work long shifts, often for 26 consecutive days.
The protestors are advocating for the adoption of the ‘Ek Police’ system, which is already operational in Tamil Nadu. This initiative would enable special police personnel to be integrated into regular law enforcement roles after a designated period, providing them with access to the same benefits and career advancement opportunities as their civil police counterparts.
R.S. Praveen Kumar, a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, criticized the state government in response to the arrests. “Another sad day in Telangana under Congress Rule. It is due to the anti-police welfare policies of Telangana’s Home Minister and CM Revanth Reddy that hundreds of family members of Telangana Special Police have taken to the streets in protest today in Hyderabad, along with their kids,” he posted on social media platform ‘X’.