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TN woman cop alleges caste discrimination, SP denies the allegation

A woman police constable in Cuddalore attempted to kill herself and alleged that there had been too much work pressure on her. In her suicide note, she has also alleged caste discrimination from her superior officers.

Savitha and her husband Sathiyaseelan belong to the Armed Reserve (AR) police unit of Cuddalore. On Wednesday, she was admitted to a hospital after she tried to kill herself. In her note, she alleged that Reserve Inspector (RI) Sivasankaran was targeting her by giving her more work, despite her repeated requests for lesser work due to health issues. The note also mentioned that she had a miscarriage due to the workload in police force.

“The main reason for all these is that my husband belongs to a scheduled caste and that like me, others in the force must not face similar discrimination. RI Sivasankaran is the cause for my death,” said the note.

Denying these allegations, Vijayakumar, the Superintendent of Police (SP), Cuddalore said that the constable and her husband had other motives.

Speaking to TNM, he said, “The constable’s husband was involved in an attempt to murder case in 2016. He was suspended based on a report from (RI) Sivasankaran. We were lenient and took him back to the AR unit out of concern for his family.”

He also went on to say that this was not the first time that Savitha had tried to kill herself. “She has family disputes and it is going on for some time now. She has done this twice before due to these disputes,” he added.

“She had requested me to post her on duties other than patrolling owing to her health conditions. I immediately posted her to the technical wing three months ago so that she can focus on her health. On Wednesday, the AR sub-inspector asked her to go for escort duty since there is a severe staff shortage in AR. She refused to go claiming that the RI imposed workload on her and went to the hospital,” he said.

He also said that the RI could not have met Savitha on Wednesday since he was on duty at an arms inspection the whole day. The SP also told the TNM that a women-only committee is being formed in the AR unit which will enable women employees to file their grievances without any reservation.

If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. 

State health department suicide helpline number – 104

Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050

Source: The News Minute