Cachar District Police disengages 56 home guards; "Kill us or engage again," they cry, meet Additional SP

It was not a happy new year for at least 56 individuals deployed at various police stations under Cachar Police. All of them rendered their services yesterday. They said, as they woke up in the morning, they saw a message in their respective mobile phones. A letter was issued by the Superintendent of the District Police which asked the respective officer in-charges to disengage the listed 56 individuals.

Most of them gathered in front of the Office of Superintendent of Police. They wanted to meet SP Cachar, Dr. Ramandeep Kaur. However, the SP was unavailable to meet the gathered homeguards.

Homeguards render contractual service and can be disengaged for a wide number of reasons including their fitness, age and other factors. “Why we are being disengaged? If there is any shortcoming, give us an opportunity to rectify. If we are disengaged in this manner, where will we go and what will we do,” they started crying falling at the feet of additional SP Cachar.

They kept on pleading to the district police. “It was done earlier too. When Diganta Baruah was the SP, he had formed a committee and as per the reccomendation of that committee, homeguards were engaged again so that their families keep getting the bread,” said homeguard who was demonstrating in front of the SP Office.

The Indian Home Guard is a volunteer tasked as an auxiliary to the Indian police. The Home Guards Organisation was reorganised in India in 1966 after the Sino-Indian War with the People’s Republic of China, though it existed in smaller units individually in some places. Home Guards are recruited from various cross sections of the civil society such as professionals, college students, agricultural and industrial workers (but only to the government) etc who give their spare time for betterment of the community. All citizens of India, in the age group of 18–50, are eligible. Normal tenure of membership in Home Guards is three to five years.