If I could eat at Empire like you, I’d be on time: Bengaluru cop’s reply to boss is viral

And of course, he got suspended for it.

news Human Interest

Let’s face it, no one wants to put themselves in a beat constable’s shoes. What with the phone calls and WhatsApp messages coming in 24x7, the constables are running around trying to complete their work and more often than not, are infuriated. Work-life balance, that myth that people constantly peddle, is close to impossible for constables who are expected to work round the clock. So, when his superior asked him to explain why he was late to work every day, one Bengaluru constable reached the end of his patience and decided to get back with a sarcastic reply that will make every frustrated employee proud.

Note: Don’t try this at home, kids. The guy actually got suspended.

Constable Sridhar Gowda, along with Head Constable Manjunath, and constable Anjanamurthy, attached with the Jayanagar Police Station, were issued notices by the Inspector on April 11. Pujar had taken note that the three constables had been coming in late for the last few weeks and had warned them of stringent action if they were not punctual.

Sridhar Gowda in his reply wrote, “If I could have breakfast at Shiv Sagar, eat lunch in the canteen, have dinner at Empire Restaurant, and eat ice cream at Milano for dessert, then come back and sleep in the room above the police station, I would never be late for work and always show up at 8 am.”

“Unlike you, I have a wife, who is also a police officer. I have two children and old parents to take care of, and hence, I was unable to come early to work,” Sridhar further stated in his reply.

Ouch.

Sridhar – predictable – got a suspension order instead of a hug and a kudos for his honesty. Sridhar was suspended on Monday by DCP Annamalai up on the recommendation of the ACP.

Speaking to TNM, Sridhar said, “My wife is a head constable who works in the control room. She has to leave home at 7 am if she has to reach work on time. My job is to feed the children and drop them to school. How can the officers expect us to show up at 8.30 am? I have requested them to change my shift so it won’t clash with my wife’s many times, and they did not listen. Unlike SI Malappa Pujar, who sleeps in the room above the station, we have to bear the traffic, too, to get to work. We are also human beings.”

However, DCP Annamalai said that Sridha's allegations are not true. "He is definitely not suspended for that reply. This man (Sridhar Gowda) is slightly mischievous and got suspended once already with some other punishments added to it. Sridhar chose to make allegations against the Inspector and circulated a copy of the letter to the media even before the inspector had a chance to read it. He chose to twist it saying that reply was for the SI Mr Pujar and not for the Inspector. Separate action will be taken against the SI as well, if the allegations are found true, after the local ACP s report," SP Annamalai added.

He also stated that if Sridhar's wife could arrive on time for duty, so could Sridhar. "When his wife is able to go at shift timings to the control room, only for 8 hours, he can also go as per his shift timings. I know in rural districts police personnel work for 15 hours. All timings in our limits are computerised with zero human intervention and duties are also allocated fairly again at random. It’s just that some guys simply believe voicing their opinion is cool and that too in a way that runs counter to organisational ethos and values," he added.