The Mumbai Police, responsible for maintaining law and order in the city, are reportedly working under intense pressure, often putting in 18 to 24-hour shifts. The burden has taken a severe toll on their mental health, leading to alarming consequences. Over the past four years, 426 police officers and staff have died due to various reasons, while 25 have died by suicide.
This shocking statistic was raised by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLC Sunil Shinde during the Question Hour in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
Shinde demanded that these deaths be investigated by senior police officials or experts from the Sociology Department of Mumbai University. He questioned the state government on the measures taken so far to reduce the death rate among police personnel. “Mounting mental, economic, and family-related stress is proving to be fatal for our police force. The government must act swiftly not only to fill vacant positions but also to address issues related to mental health, housing, and rehabilitation,” Shinde said.
In response, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that since the families of the deceased police personnel have not raised any suspicions, the government does not see the need for a special investigation into the deaths.
“Unconditional Jobs for Families of Deceased Officers”
Shinde also urged the government to provide unconditional employment to the families of police personnel who died in the line of duty or by suicide. He pressed for the immediate recruitment to fill 12,000 vacancies in the police department to reduce the workload on existing staff. He also demanded affordable housing for police officers under the new housing policy.
Responding on behalf of the state government, Minister Yogesh Kadam stated that jobs are provided to family members of deceased personnel as per the existing compassionate appointment policy.
