JAMMU: These days a section of police officers have develop penchant for heroic felicitations program from self-styled ‘Lambardar’ of society in blatant violation of All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968 and Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964. Surprisingly, while this practice assumed an alarming proportion past abrogation of article 370, yet the higher ups in civil secretariat and Police Headquarter are in deep slumber over this unwanted practice prevailing fast among young IPS officers.
Describing this trend as absurd and deviation from rules laid down for All India Services officers, an officer of the rank of ADGP maintaining anonymity said, “There is no need to accept valedictory address or entertainment program organized by the private entities, NGOs and organizations with political affiliation.”
There is clear restrictions imposed on AIS officers from accepting public demonstrations in their honor. “No member of AIS shall except with the previous sanction of the government, receive any complimentary or valedictory address or accept any testimonial or attend any meeting or entertainment held in his honour or in the honour of any other Government Servant” reads Para 12 of All India Services (Conduct) Rules 1968.
The officers is allowed to attend only a farewell entertainment of a substantially private and informal character held in honour of a member of the Service or any other Government servant on the occasion of his retirement or transfer or of any person or the acceptance of simple and inexpensive entertainments arranged by public bodies or institutions, states AIS rules.
Similar code of conduct applies to the Civil and Police officers of UT J&K under ‘The Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 197
Commenting on this new emerging trend where some shoddy characters claiming to be Massiha of public keeps flying from one district to other with dedicated 24×7 ‘Toofani’ “Journalists” and busy felicitating police officers, one officer posted in Home Department preferring anonymity said “This show of circus needs to be stopped as it has serious ramifications on the policing of a society where except a few gram of drugs recoveries nothing substantially good have so far been done to nab even a single kingpin operating ‘Narco-Terrorism’in J&K.”
As compared to Civil and other departments, this phenomenon is more prevalent in police organization and interestingly the organizers behind these private valedictory programs are the same set of people who felicitates the officers on the day of joining in district. This practice is in contrast to the conduct rules and the authorities need to serve show cause notice to delinquent officers explaining their positions on what prompted them to break conduct rules.
It is, as if, some media wigs backed by quite common faces have earned the herculean contract of blaming and trying to tame newcomers (new office occupiers) by garlanding amid big social gatherings.
This is an aberrant situation and the Home Department should issue an advisory or dashed a letter to DGP to curb this practice prevailing randomly among the police officers in UT J&K, avers an officer.