Top cop takes note of absent policemen

Constables and lower-rung officers accustomed to taking days off from work without prior intimation will now have to think twice before taking such liberties. In a move aimed at improving the attendance records at units across the city,Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik has now instituted a new procedure for policemen reporting back to duty after remaining absent without notice.

“The new procedure demands that policemen who go on absence of 15 days or more without any intimation will now have to report to the Mumbai Police headquarters at Crawford Market to get the reasons for their absence verified. They will have to produce medical certificates,X-ray and blood reports in case they claim to have been unwell,and these will be verified by DCP (Operations),DCP (HQ-I) or DCP (HQ-II),” said a senior Mumbai Police officer who did not wish to be named.

“Unless these policemen get this verification done at the heaquarters,they will not get their pay for the concerned period. Earlier,since the fear of reporting to the headquarters was not there,taking days off without proper justifaction would not be an unusual practice. Attendance records would sometimes be fudged in some departments. However,the new move has served as a deterrent,and the attendance seems to have improved,” said the officer