J&K MLA dashes to Himachal, averts cop's suicide
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SRINAGAR: J&K Independent legislator Rameshwar Singh travelled to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to save the life of a cop who had climbed a tree and threatened suicide, saying his salary was first slashed to Rs 4000 after Covid and stopped after he moved court against the cuts.
Special police officer (SPO) Shyam Lal, 48, climbed the 15-metre-high tree around 4:30pm Monday at Banikhet in Himachal Pradesh and refused to come down, relenting only when Singh arrived around five hours later.
Lal, a father of three, is from Singh's Bani constituency in J&K's Kathua and had gone to Banikhet, around three hours away, for work as a casual labourer. Fearing the worst, Himachal police contacted Singh after the SPO insisted on speaking to the MLA.
'Under severe stress, he (Lal) had climbed the tree to end his life. Local police tried to convince him, but he refused to come down, which is when they called me,' Singh told TOI.
The MLA made it clear that Himachal police and its govt had no role in the standoff. 'In fact, they were cooperative and called me to help him (Lal),' Singh said. He said HP police wanted to file an FIR against Lal but he intervened and dissuaded them.
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'He is already in trouble. How much more should he face?' said Singh.
SPOs were appointed in erstwhile J&K state under a 1995 scheme to provide auxiliary support to law enforcement agencies, especially police, in fighting militancy. They are not regular govt employees and their service tenures are not permanent. Over 32,000 SPOs are currently engaged.
According to Singh, when around 300 SPOs like Lal approached Jammu and Kashmir high court after Covid against the wage cuts, the current J&K UT administration disengaged them instead of resolving their grievances.
'For the last two years, they (SPOs who went to court) haven't been paid anything. But the weapons are still with them. The govt used the services of these SPOs during Covid and abandoned them by slashing their salaries and disengaging them. This is unacceptable,' Singh said.
The MLA appealed to the SPOs to pursue legal remedies instead of taking extreme steps. 'Suicide is not an option. Fighting your case is,' he said.
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