Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa recently announced Rs. 1 crore as compensation to the family of a head constable P Munusamy, who was killed in Hosur. The state government also promised to revise the compensation amount for families of police personnel who lose their lives in duty. But the family of a head constable, who died in 2013, is still waiting for the government to keep its promise to them.
On May 24, 2013, C Thiyagarajan, then 48, head constable of Kotturpuram police station was murdered by a burglar Vimal who slashed his neck with a blade when he tried to question him.
After his death, his wife Mamathi, (46) was given Rs 5 lakh as compensation. She was also promised a job and allowed to stay in the Kilpauk Garden police quarters for next 10 years. “We were given Rs 5 lakh by the government and I was promised a job at the same post as my husband. I had gone through a thyroid operation so could not take it and my son, Boopathi said he will take the job,” said Mamathi.
But their family was told that as he was 17-years-old, he will only be given the job after he turns 18. “It has been three years, now my son is 20-years-old but he still has not been given the job,” said Mamathi.
Boopathi, Thiyagarajan’s son, said that the police should give special consideration. “Whenever we try talking to officers at the commissioner’s office, they claim that the job is provided on the basis of seniority and I will get the job when my number comes,” said Boopathi.
Apart from the job, the family was asked to vacate the headquarters in May. “We were promised that we will be allowed to live in the quarters for 10 years, but now we have vacated the house and are living in a rented house in Anna Nagar,” said Mamathi.
Generally, the families, after retirement or after the death of the person working in the police force, are allowed to live in the quarters for three months.
Mamathi said that they did not even have money to give advance for the house rent. “We shifted to a new house in June and we had to pay Rs. 50,000 just for the house advance and have to pay Rs. 7000 per month as rent,” she said.
It was not easy for Mamathi to educate both her children and manage the household expenses. “My daughter Chithirai completed her Bachelor’s in Computer Science Engineering and my son has done a Bachelor’s in Computer Science. It was very difficult for me to cover all the expenses,” she said.
The government had promised to pay the education expenses for both the children but that money never came to the family. “When we asked them for the money, they told us you pay the fees and later we will refund it but they have not done it till now,” said Mamathi.
The family has been getting Rs. 15,000 as pension but nearly half the amount goes as rent. Mamathi just wants the government to provide a job to her son and give them a house to live in. “My husband worked so hard and even lost his life on duty, but today we do not even have a house to live,” she said.
She also added that she tried to go meet the commissioner many times but was never allowed. “The commissioner’s office keeps saying that they will do something but nothing has happened till now,” she said.
This story was first reported in The New Indian Express by Jayanthi Pawar.