PANAJI
Several police couples in Goa with young children have been assigned Zilla Panchayat (ZP) election duty despite requesting exemption, triggering discontent within the force as the long-standing practice of keeping one parent out of duty in such cases appears to have been ignored. Polling is scheduled on December 20 while counting will take place two-days later on December 22.
Multiple police personnel from stations including Saligao, Bicholim and other parts of North Goa have submitted written representations to their superiors seeking exemption on humanitarian grounds. The common plea: both husband and wife are in police service, have been assigned ZP election duty, and have no alternative arrangement to care for their minor children.
One such representation, accessed by The Goan, was addressed to the Superintendent of Police, Election Cell, Panaji. In the letter, a woman police personnel requested exemption from election duty stating that her husband, a police constable attached to a local police station, has already been deployed for ZP duty. She further pointed that their eight-year-old son has no one else to look after him if both parents are put on election duty.
“Considering there is no one else to look after my child, my request may kindly be considered on humanitarian grounds,” the letter states. Despite that the lady was deployed on election duty.
According to police sources, similar applications have been forwarded “through proper channel” by several couples, but almost all have reportedly been turned down. In some cases, the personnel claim they were verbally informed that any immediate relief is unlikely as the election duty charts have already been finalised and personnel deployment completed.
“It is not just in police department but there are cases spread across,” sources said.
Sources pointed out that in other government departments, and even in past elections, one parent from a working couple with a young child was usually exempted from election-related duties. “This practice has been followed for years to ensure child care and reduce stress on families. But this time, police couples are being ignored,” a source said.
Senior police officials, when contacted, said that election duty is a statutory obligation and exemptions can only be granted in exceptional circumstances. “We have tried to balance operational requirements with humanitarian considerations, but the force is limited and the election deployment is extensive,” an official said.
