Retired Police Welfare Association (RPWA) on Tuesday staged a protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Nitesh Rane at the Pune Collectorate for his remarks against police officers at a recent event in Sangli. The protest was led by RPWA President Sampat Jadhav and over a hundred retired police officers participated in it.
Speaking about alleged love jihad cases in Maharashtra, Rane told police officers, "The government belongs to Hindus, the home minister is Devendra Fadnavis. If you do not act accordingly, we will send you to a district where even your wife will not be able to contact you. I am not appealing to you, I don't speak that way. I take direct action." "If a girl is giving a complaint about love jihad at a police station, then the complaint should be taken within half an hour, otherwise we will enter the police station in the next three hours and create a ruckus," he added.
At the protest, Jadhav criticised Rane for making threats about transferring senior officials. He said, "Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis holds the authority in such matters, and any misconduct by police officers is addressed through internal departmental actions, as the police are disciplined individuals. However, Rane's irresponsible statements have tarnished the image of the police force. The government should take action against him."
Meanwhile, Jadhav also stated that the RPWA has already submitted a letter related to issues faced by them but due to political pressure, authorities have not provided justice yet.
"Retired police officers still need to submit petitions for their rightful claims; it is a very shameful situation even after submitting multiple applications. Retired officers have not yet received their service record copies, which they are entitled to, even after submitting multiple applications. Moreover, decisions on pay grade adjustments under the S-14 category, related to the 10, 20, and 30 year increments, fall under the authority of unit heads, but no action has been taken despite repeated requests. As per the orders of the Bombay High Court, retired police officers should receive the salary increment difference from the date of their retirement, along with the recalculated salary," said Jadhav.
Subarao Lad, another retired police personnel, said, "There are financial difficulties faced by retirees due to delays in receiving their post-retirement payments. We demand that we should be compensated with interest for the delay."
