Mid-Day Opinion: Assaulting security staff cannot be tolerated

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A watchman at a Khar housing society was allegedly assaulted by a tenant after asking the tenant's visitor to sign the society's register, we reported. The watchman has alleged that despite the assault, Khar police registered a non-cognisable complaint instead of an FIR.

The watchman recalled that he asked a lady who was visiting the tenant to fill in her details in the register as she entered the building, which she duly did. Yet later, the tenant he claimed assaulted him as the lady visitor was upset at being stopped and asked to fill in details. The housing society surveillance bore out those claims, with a medical examination showing both eardrums ruptured following the beating.

This is unacceptable and must be followed up by strict police and legal action. We have often witnessed co-operative housing society members bullying their building staff. Threats are made if water stops or there is diminished supply, as if the watchmen are responsible, not the BMC. Watchmen are made to run personal errands for society members and then get blamed for being ‘missing' while on duty. Society members and their guests at times, tenants in ownership flats ‘defying' the rules, ordering them to open gates that were locked and threatened to comply with unreasonable requests from owners. They are employees and will usually do as told for fear of losing their jobs and income.

While one is not claiming that watchmen or security staff is never at fault, when they are they must and should be pulled up, there is a power balance here and it is in favour of members. We need to respect rules, putting human life and job dignity above all.