Decision to remove 25,000 home guards from duty temporary: DGP

Lucknow: Backfoot over the decision to remove 25,000 home guards from police duty, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh on Tuesday said these forces have not been retrenched but kept out of duty temporarily owing to financial crunch.

"It is wrong to say that  these 25,000 home guards have been sacked from their jobs but it is just a temporary phase and they have kept out of their duties," he told media here but refused to commit when they would be resuming their duty.

The home guards are paid Rs 500 on daily basis but recently the Supreme court, in its order, has asked their daily honorarium to be hiked to Rs 672 per day at par with the state police.

"We have no budget for the hiked honorarium of the home guards due to which such decision has been taken. But certainly something would be done soon so that they could again resume their duties," the DGP said while claiming that home guards are the backbone of control law and order situation in the state and they are working at a par with the state police.(UNI)