Gujarat Confidential: No ‘Orderly Room’

(Representational)

The Armed Units of Gujarat Police, which include the State Reserve Police Force, have decided to do away with the colloquial term ‘orderly room’ to refer to junior staff seeking time with their commanding officers for a meeting. A notification was issued by the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Armed Units, Shamsher Singh replacing the term ‘orderly room’ with ‘interview’ for personnel wishing to meet their senior officials in their department. The notification will be in effect for all 21 battalions of Gujarat Police Armed Units, including the Gujarat Police Academy in Karai and the Principal Police Training College in Junagadh. Singh said that he was alerted about the usage of the term by a Twitter user. “Actually, it has been used in the army and paramilitary forces for misconduct or indiscipline of staff, where the person is asked for an explanation and handed out a petty punishment. We have decided to change it with ‘interview’ or ‘rubaroo mulakat’ (in Gujarati),” said Singh.

‘Anger Management’

After the recent incidents of a policeman opening fire at a civilian and a Lok Rakshak Dal (LRD) jawan assaulting a journalist, top cops of the city plan to sensitise newly-inducted personnel for tackling such situations. Senior officers feel they have to bear the brunt of their juniors’ aggression and face media and public ire. Earlier in June, a newly-inducted Sub Inspector shot a civilian after an altercation with his father. While the police had lodged two cross complaints in the case, no arrests have been made yet. In January, an LRD jawan was suspended for critically injuring a journalist over a traffic issue. The media fraternity of the city had approached the Commissioner of Police and a verbal apology was rendered by the latter. “Newly-inducted police personnel need to be trained in anger management. Such actions might be lauded in movies but the reality is very different. As public servants, we have to be more responsible,” a top police official said.