Andhra constable hounded by superiors for writing novel

M S Shanker in Hyderabad

A 42-year-old policeman writes a novel about the hardships of life as a cop.

What happens next?

Simple -- more hardships! In the form of harassment by superiors. In the shape of a show cause notice asking why action shouldn't be taken against Gantinapati Mohan Rao for violating service rules. Specifically, Rule 13 of the APCS (Conduct) of 1964, which says, 'No government employee shall, without the previous permission of the government, publish any book which is not purely of a literary, artistic or scientific character. While applying for permission to publish a book he shall submit to government a manuscript copy thereof...'

"I don't know why my bosses are making an issue out of this," says Rao. "What I wrote is a novel. Moreover, why haven't they taken note of my superiors in the IPS and who have written books and newspapers columns? If that is okay, then why are there different rules for them and for me? Do we not all of us come under the same service rules?"

True enough -- Kiran Bedi's writings alone furnishing a case in point to support Rao's argument.

But what is more interesting is the wording of the rule -- which specifically says that prior permission is required only if the book concerned is not literary, artistic or scientific. Given that Rao's work is fiction, the use of the rule to buttress a show cause notice appears to back up his claim that this is harassment, pure and not so simple.

Khakila bathukulu (Plight of policemen) is the work that set off the storm. And in precis, the 805-page book draws on the experiences of his own father, retired head constable Prakash Rao, to paint a picture of life as an ordinary policeman.

The book was published five months ago via a publishing firm started in the name of Rao's wife Prathyusha. And immediately thereafter Rao, a head constable in Tenali in Guntur district, was asked to do writing of a different kind altogether -- to wit, reply to the show cause notice.

For now, Rao has secured a stay from the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, a statutory body which looks into the grievances of government employees, against both the notice and his transfer to the CID branch in Guntur district.

Interestingly, Rao was no sooner served his transfer orders than his new superior, SP Rajeev Trivedi, handed him a hot potato of an assignment -- to investigate Naxalite activities in and around the district which, in fact, is a hotbed of extremist activity.

Rao is understandably bitter. "Nothing has changed from my father's time," he says. "The police are used against the people they are meant to protect, at the behest of politicians, while the real criminals are allowed to go off scot free."

He is determined to fight this one through. "My pay has been stopped, so now I am planning to take action to get it back. The various actions against me are illegal, and I am determined not to buckle under," he maintains.

Rao should know what he is talking about -- after all, it was he who translated the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code manuals into simple Telugu. His translated works also include AP Police law guide and Indian Evidence Act.

All books have been published by the firm named for his wife. Asked why, Rao says, "When I approached some leading publishers, they turned down my request, obviously fearing the wrath of the government and senior cops. Some insisted on removing certain paragraphs. Finally, out of frustration, I started my own firm."

Even as the police hierarchy tries to stifle Rao's strident voice, the cop-turned-author is planning to increase the volume even higher. A second edition of his book is expected shortly -- and this one, he says, tells even more home truths than the previous one.

"The functioning of the Indian police has become rotten. Cops are used for all purposes by their superiors -- except what they are actually supposed to do, which is maintain law and order and serve the people."

A school dropout, Rao was inspired by a Telugu recreation of the classic Harriet Beecher Stowe novel Uncle Tom, by Telugu novelist Ranganayakamma, to begin writing. "I feel proud if my writings help correct the system," says Rao, arguing that the police manual, and in fact the entire police administration, needs a thorough overhaul.

Meanwhile, the official view, as expressed by SP Trivedi, is the classic: "One cannot afford to allow indiscipline in a disciplined force like police."