Chennai: In the untimely demise of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police C Vijayakumar, the issue of mounting vacancies in the state's uniformed services and the mental health of the personnel have come into focus.
Having handled many sensitive assignments, Vijayakumar was posted as DIG of Coimbatore Range in February this year. His suicide has come as a rude shock not only for the police force. His cremation was held with state honours at Theni, his native district in the evening. Earlier, DGP Shankar Jival and a host of police officers paid their last respects to the departed soul. While his father is a Village Administrative Officer (VAO), the lowest in the Revenue Department, his mother was a school teacher.
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Shortly after the news of the death was reported, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) A Arun told the media in Coimbatore that the DIG had been suffering from OCD and depression for a long and was taking medical treatment for the past few years. “Initial inquiry revealed that there was no familial or work-related pressure,” he said, adding that a case had been booked and the investigation was on.
According to the ADGP, the deceased officer had not revealed his mental health issues to his superiors and had opened it up to a few top police officials in Coimbatore only recently. For this, he had taken a medical check-up and was prescribed treatment under alternative medication, he added.
While Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed shock and offered his condolences, the opposition parties demanded a proper inquiry into the death of Vijayakumar. BJP State president K Annamalai, a former IPS officer, urged the government to expeditiously fill up the vacancies in the force and provide the personnel weekly off as the police are under tremendous pressure.
“We have reports of officers committing suicide in the Central forces and in some other states. Now, it has come to our state as well. The police, especially those under the lower rung, have severe mental stress due to the working conditions. There is an urgent need to reform the police force and there are nearly 10,000 vacancies. Filling up these vacancies would greatly reduce the stress among the police. The Chief Minister should fill them up on a war footing within two years. The government would implement the 2006 guidelines of the Supreme Court besides ensuring basic amenities in all the police stations,” Annamalai said, demanding a probe under the supervision of a High Court judge into the death.
The AIADMK had demanded a CBI probe into the death of Vijayakumar alleging that even senior police officers are languishing under severe stress due to political interference in their functioning. On the medical front, experts are of the view that OCD and depression are neuropsychiatric disorder that sets in in early childhood. The symptoms include fear and anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts and hyperactivity, and trouble in sleeping among others. But, the exact cause of it is still an ongoing research.
