Chief minister A Revanth Reddy interacts with family members of police officials killed in the line of duty, on Police Commemoration Day in Hyderabad on Wednesday
Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy said all vacancies in the Telangana police department would be filled by 2028, with 5,000 additional posts to be filled soon. Speaking at the Police Commemoration Day parade at Goshamahal Stadium, Revanth said the recent recruitment of 112 DSPs is unprecedented in the state’s history. Revanth reiterated the enhanced ex gratia for the kin of police officials who died in the line of duty — ₹1 crore for constables, ₹1.25 crore for SIs and inspectors, ₹1.5 crore for DSPs and additional SPs and ₹2 crore for SPs and IPS officers. He directed DGP CV Anand to raise the home guard ex gratia from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. DGP Anand said 154 police personnel were killed in the line of duty across the country in the past year, including three from Telangana. Anand said the Young India Police School, running from the Greyhounds campus with 350 students, will move to a 44-acre campus in Manchirevula by April with 720 students.
A book on police officials killed in the line of duty, titled ‘Amarulu Vaaru’, was released by the chief minister during the event.
Cautioning police officials against misinterpreting friendly policing, Revanth said officers should not go soft on drug offenders, land grabbers or those involved in food adulteration. Be tough against criminals but be friendly with commoners,” he said. The govt will support you fully,” the chief minister told the families.
He urged the force to be tough on criminals while remaining accessible and friendly to the public. The police department is also appointing transgender persons as traffic assistants. “Friendly policing is not for criminals. It is for a common man who comes to a police station for help. “No one can replace your loss. But you are not alone. ASI P Devi Singh of Cyberabad was run over by a water tanker at Kompally; constable M Pramod Kumar of Nizamabad was stabbed to death by SK Riyaz, a habitual offender; constable S Kamalakar of Suryapet died when he was hit by a car during a vehicle check. Apart from these three, excise constable G Soumya died after being run over by ganja smugglers in a vehicle in Nizamabad. The event was attended by senior police officers and retired officers and the next of kin of the fallen police officials.