Homeguards allege they are forced to work at officers' houses

Hyderabad,  A group of homeguards, mostly women, on Thursday held a protest here alleging that they were being forced to work as orderlies at the residences of senior police officers.

However, police maintained that it was not a protest; only 30 to 40 homeguards gathered near the office of DCP (South Zone) demanding that they be posted back to the police stations.

Joint Commissioner of Police M Shiva Prasad said they were counselled and their grievances, including the one about weekly off, were addressed.

Due to paucity of strength (in city police) following deployment towards bandobast duty and law and order in view of festivals, the homeguards were deployed for platoon duty. The homeguards are used to work in police stations and traffic duty.

We have counselled them and attended to their grievances and they have been told that they will be posted back to police stations in a phased manner, he said.

But the protesting homeguards claimed before the media that they were asked to do household chores at the houses of police officers.