Direct speak CP orders pips away

VADODARA, June 8: It took newly appointed Commissioner of Police Kuldip Sharma to notice that three assistant commissioners of the city were...

VADODARA, June 8: It took newly appointed Commissioner of Police Kuldip Sharma to notice that three assistant commissioners of the city were habitually wearing one more star on their badges than they were eligible for.

The ACPs in question were reportedly sporting three stars ever since they were promoted from the posts of inspectors. However, no one in the department noticed the lapse or, if they did, did not bring it up before the commissioner.

According to the Gujarat Police Service Manual, deputy superintendents of police or assistant commissioners, as they are known in the commissionerate, with less than five years of service can wear only two stars. This was what Sharma pointed out to the ACPs in question recently.When approached for his comments, the police commissioner told Express Newsline that wearing more than the right number of badges amounted to gross indiscipline.

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“As soon as I noticed that the number of badges they were sporting were not in keeping with the rules, I ordered them to take off the extra ones”, he said.

A senior official told Express Newsline on Sunday that the no-nonsense image of the former chief of the State’s Anti-Terrorist Squad was enough to bring recalcitrant policemen into line. “He can fire a DCP on his face, unlike many others”, he said.