Demoted for not paying a bribe?

Two Home Guards allege that they were demoted from their posts after they failed to pay a bribe of Rs 10,000 to their superior; still await their promotions 11 months since they filed a complaint

Two Home Guards allege that they were demoted from their posts after they failed to pay a bribe of Rs 10,000 to their superior; still await their promotions 11 months since they filed a complaint

Two home guards, who thought they would serve the nation, are now fighting the system after they were demoted for allegedly not paying a bribe. Eleven months since they complained about their demotion, they are still running from pillar to post for justice. Sayed Murad Abbas (34) and Sayed Mohammad Tafazzul Hussain (35), residents of Junnar in Pune had joined the Home Guard in 1997.
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Unfair treatment: Sayed Abbas and Mohammad Tafazzul Hussain still
await their promotions to Paltan Nayaks

According to them, impressed by their performance, a government committee in August 2008 suggested their promotion to Paltan Nayaks after they had trained villagers to be alert citizens and providing lessons on how to catch snakes.

However, on August 4, 2009, their promotion was cancelled. "Without any prior notice or intimation we were demoted," said Abbas. Trying to understand the reason behind their demotion, they approached their immediate superioru00a0-- the district commander D C Ahuja.

Abbas and Tafazzul say that when they asked him why were they were demoted, the superior allegedly told them that they had not paid Rs 10,000 and said, "Tumko samajhna chahiye. Uparwalon ko paise chahiye. (You need to understand. Senior officials need money.)

Frustrated, the duo complained against DC Ahuja and also approached the Mantralaya to intervene in the matter. However, what came next left them shell-shocked. "We were left stunned. The department told us that we were members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). They asked us to resign but we refused and asked for an inquiry into the matter," said Abbas.

Further abused
Abbas further elaborated that the injustice did not end there and went much further. He explained that when the duo approached their superior Sanjay Kale's office, they were abused and asked to leave the office because they were terrorists.

Abbas told MiD DAY, unable to bear the humiliation, they filed a non-cognisable complaint at Shivaji Nagar police station against Kale on May 14, 2010. Abbas said they finally saw a glimmer of hope when in June 2010, the then Director General (DG), Home Guard Ajit Parasnis had ordered to give their post back. However, the situation is still in limbo as D C Ahuja refused to give them back their posts saying, "Jahaan complaint kiya hai, wahin se lo."

The Other Side
Raj Khilnani, DG, Home Guard refused to comment saying he was not aware of the incident and DGP Ajit Parasnis was unavailable for comment. When MiD DAY spoke to DC Ahuja, he said, "I myself announced in front of the home guards that neither of them had any links with SIMI. The Home Guard department is not a government body and the situation is private. Both of them were temporarily promoted. I had already announced that they would get their posts back after six months. They are complaining for the last two years but it takes time."