SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Oct 23: The Jharkhand Home Guard Welfare Society has strongly opposed the proposed removal of home guard personnel from Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, and the reported plan to replace them with a private security agency.
In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, the Welfare Society highlighted that there is a move to reduce 50% of the home guard personnel currently deployed at RIMS. The Society warned that if the decision is implemented, it would push the families of home guards towards financial distress and starvation.
Association Warns of Statewide Agitation
General Secretary of the Welfare Society, Rajiv Kumar Tiwari, stated that in 2021, after a statewide agitation, the state government had assured the deployment of home guards in security duties across institutions. Based on that assurance, home guards were assigned to RIMS and other establishments. However, the current move to remove them contradicts the earlier commitment, he said.
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“If the number of home guard personnel at RIMS is reduced, the Welfare Society will be compelled to launch an agitation through democratic and constitutional means,” Tiwari warned in the memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister.
Copies of the memorandum have also been sent to the Health Minister, Chief Secretary, Director General-cum-Commandant, Deputy DGP, and other senior officials.
Clashes Put Home Guards Under Scrutiny
Home guards deployed at RIMS have been at the centre of controversy since August 2024, following a clash with junior doctors and MBBS students. After the incident, the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) demanded the removal of home guards from the institution and lodged a complaint with the RIMS administration and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).
A JDA office bearer alleged that home guards had failed to provide adequate security to doctors and students. “Two junior lady doctors were misbehaved with by outsiders during duty hours, but security personnel were nowhere to be found. Moreover, over the past year, more than a dozen bikes have been stolen from the campus without recovery of a single one,” the office bearer said, blaming the home guards for dereliction of duty.
JDA Clarifies Stance on Security Personnel
JDA President Dr. Aman Singh clarified that reducing the number of home guards at RIMS is a decision of the institution’s management and the district police administration. “The Association has no objection to the deployment of home guards. Our primary concern is ensuring the safety and security of students and doctors on the campus,” Dr. Singh stated.
