Patna: The police headquarters has ordered superintendents of police and Bihar Military Police commandants to immediately withdraw constables deployed as house guards at the residences of retired police officers.

The Union home ministry had ordered state governments around March to recall police and security personnel deputed as houseguards with retired IPS officers.

Bihar had kept the matter under wraps, but issued the order for withdrawal on May 21 after Brij Nandan Prasad, a jawan of the BMP's second battalion stationed at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district, attempted suicide on duty around 5.30 am on May 18.

A resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Brij Nandan, 55, lived with his family in Shastrinagar. He shot himself with his self-loading rifle at former director-general of police (DGP) Dhruv Prasad Ojha's residence in Police Colony sector A under Gardanibagh police station in Patna.

At present, he is undergoing treatment at a private hospital for bullet injury to his mandible bone (lower jaw) and tongue, which were broken into three pieces.

Following the incident, the state police headquarters asked the SPs and commandants of BMP's different battalions to ensure constables and homeguard jawans are assigned to regular policing assignments.

Sources in the police headquarters said barring a few retired IPS officers, almost all retired DGPs, additional directors-general of police, inspectors-general, deputy inspectors-general and superintendents of police were availing the facility of homeguards according to provisions of the age-old orderly system. Some of the retired senior cops have also been allotted armed constables as house guards whereas majority of them had been given homeguard jawans.

According to government rules, bodyguards, vehicles, and other facilities availed by officers during service are to be removed within a month of retirement. Retired DSP Shashi Bhushan Sharma is an exception, as he has been allotted a bodyguard for threat to life. Sharma had survived an attack on his life in Patna in 2010.

Additional director-general (headquarters) S.K. Singhalrefused to comment on the recall order. "I won't like to make any comment," he told The Telegraph, as the matter concerned retired top cops.

Authoritative sources said around 200 constables and homeguard jawans are deployed as house guards at residences of retired IPS officers.

A retired DGP said the orderly system had been put in place by the British in 1861. In the absence of a communication system, the idea was to ensure that the constables were available for the officers round-the-clock. However, it has degenerated into engaging police constables and homeguards as help, cook and gardener at houses of the senior officers.

On condition of anonymity, he said as the constables and homeguard jawans were engaged in household jobs, it created a wrong impression in the public mind and also went against the decorum and discipline of government service.

The recall of orderlies has, however, not gone down well with the retired officers. Another retired DGP said: "Some serving IPS officers have more than 10 orderlies at their disposal. One or two is enough. But it has become a status symbol for a few officers to have three to four orderlies at home. There have been reports of some personnel deployed at officers' farmhouses or native villages too."

A Bihar police service officer, who retired as SP recently, said he didn't keep any house guard. "Mostly house guards have been deployed at the residences of retired DGPs, ADGs, IGs and DIGs," he added.