The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Catching them young

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Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Catching them young

K. Srinivas Reddy

They don’t go on counter-insurgency operations in the Bastar forests like their seniors, but do attend school and office on alternate days

Bal Rakshak: Phani Teja (15) and Rupesh Markam (13) who have been appointed as police constables on compassionate grounds by the Chhattisgarh Police.

BASTAR (Chhattisgarh): One would mistake them for NCC cadets. Smartly attired in uniforms and caps, the two khaki-clad boys stand out as ‘misfits’ in the building where guards in fatigues flaunt INSAS rifles and AK-47s.

Grim-faced policemen receive their salutes with equal seriousness and nod their heads in appreciation when the kids snap to attention for a perfect salute. But, it’s no kids play for Phani Teja and Rupesh Markam at the District Police Office in Jagdalpur of Chhattisgarh.

They are on duty just like any other policeman. While they don’t go on counter-insurgency operations in the Bastar forests like their senior colleagues, they do attend school and office on alternate days. They are “Bal Rakshaks”, the child policemen employed by the Chhattisgarh police.

“I want to be an IPS officer”, declares Phani Teja. It would take at least a decade for him to realise his dream but considering his determination and the facilities provided, it should not be a great task for him. After his father, a policeman, died in harness, he was drafted into the force on compassionate grounds. So was Rupesh Markam.

Phani Teja hails from Hyderabad and speaks fluent Telugu. He has been earning Rs 2,900 a month, after he was made a constable following the death of his father B.R.K. Murthy. His family consisting of his mother and a younger brother stay in the police quarters. “This is one of the best welfare schemes we have in Chhattisgarh. The ‘Bal Rakshaks’ are encouraged to study. We do not give them much work in the office. They come to office depending on their convenience. Mostly, they carry files from one section to another,” G.P. Singh, Senior SP of Bastar says.

The idea is to provide some source of livelihood to policemen who die on duty. “We have more than a dozen child policemen working with us”, he says. The child policemen are entitled to join as regular constables after they turn 18, provided they have minimum educational qualifications.

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