Dharwad: Police officer who had sought VRS after facing CM's anger, attends duty
Dharwad (Karnataka), Jul 3 (PTI): Additional Superintendent of Police Narayan Baramani, who had sought voluntary retirement from service (VRS), after facing the Chief Minister's anger during a Congress rally in April, on Thursday said he was attending to his duty.
He said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G Parameshwara, and higher officials spoke to him.
He did not comment on the episode and the status of his VRS, citing that he is in a disciplined department.
"As I'm in a disciplined department, I have shared my feelings with my higher officials. The Chief Minister, Home Minister, and higher officials have spoken to me in this regard. I'm attending duty," Baramani told reporters.
Siddaramaiah, on April 28, had lost his cool and made a gesture by raising his hand at a police officer on the stage, as a group of women, allegedly BJP workers, tried to disrupt his speech during a rally in Belagavi.
As a group of women who were amidst the large crowd showed a black flag and shouted slogans during his speech, visibly upset Siddaramaiah summoned the Additional SP rank officer onto the stage. He addressed him in singular and said, "Come here, who is the SP? What are you doing?".
The CM was then seen making a gesture by raising his hand at the officer out of frustration, but withdrew it immediately, and subsequently instructed him to remove the people who were creating a disturbance.
"Having been publicly insulted and humiliated by the behavior of the Chief Minister on a public platform for a mistake I did not commit, I have no other option but to seek voluntary retirement," Baramani's purported letter to the Home Department said.
Sharing the contents of the letter, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, in a post on 'X', on Thursday, alleged that the morale of the police department has been damaged by the Congress government.
"Whether the incident in which you raised your hand at Additional SP Narayan Baramani on a public platform was due to your arrogance of power or frustration at leading a failed government, or with a feeling that you will have to relinquish power soon, I will leave that to your introspection," he told Siddaramaiah.
"But your action has damaged the self-respect of a dutiful officer. It has brought down the morale of the entire police department. It has hurt the morality of the bureaucracy, and the self-confidence of the workforce has collapsed," he added.
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Worker’s body reaches Ranchi from Saudi 4 months after death; family rejects over compensation
Ranchi (PTI): The body of a migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Giridih district killed in Saudi Arabia in October last year has arrived at Ranchi Airport, but his family refused to accept it over pending compensation, officials said.
Shikha Lakra, team leader of the state migrant control cell, told PTI that, before taking the body of Vijay Kumar Mahato, the family is demanding compensation from the private company where he used to work in the Arab country.
Mahato was killed in an alleged crossfire between the police and criminals.
“Since it was a bullet injury case, the matter is before a court in Jeddah. The final compensation may depend on the court’s decision,” Lakra said.
“The Indian Embassy informed us about the body’s arrival, and coordination was done with district authorities. Our role is limited to coordination in cases involving overseas employers and foreign jurisdiction,” she added.
Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said the authorities will try to convince the family to perform the last rites.
“We have already sanctioned Rs 5 lakh under the government scheme for migrant’s deaths abroad. The compensation payment might take some time,” he said.
The body is currently at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The Family members said they will only accept it if the company provides written assurance regarding compensation. “Without that assurance, we will not receive the body,” said Ram Prasad Mahato, the deceased’s brother-in-law.
Mahato, a native of Dudhpaniya village in Madh Gopali panchayat under Dumri block, was employed as a tower line fitter. His family said he was struck by a bullet during a gunfight between local police and an extortion gang and later succumbed to his injuries.
Social activist Sikander Ali said Mahato is survived by his wife, two young sons aged five and three, and elderly parents.
