Special Auxiliary Police jawans raise slogans against seniors at Dehri police lines in Rohtas district on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, April 19: The personnel of Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) are up in arms against alleged discrepancies in the payment of allowances for poll duty. At some places, they even refused to join duty assigned to them in the forthcoming panchayat elections beginning tomorrow.

Around 350 SAP jawans created a scene at the police lines at Dehri-on-Sone in Rohtas district late on Monday evening. They were demanding immediate payment of allowances for poll duty on a par with those of the district armed police (DAP).

The situation worsened when a group of jawans misbehaved with the sergeant major when the latter tried to pacify the agitators.

The jawans alleged that they were being getting Rs 300 only against Rs 2,357 paid to the policemen of the district.

The situation was brought under control after the intervention of superintendent of police Manu Maharaj, who assured the SAP jawans of taking appropriate steps for the payment of allowances for election duty.

The SAP personnel kept on shouting slogans against the senior police officials till midnight.

The jawans alleged that they have not been paid their monthly remuneration for the past three months. “We were not paid the allowances for duty in the recently concluded council elections,” said a jawan under the cover of anonymity.

The agitators agreed to take up the new assignments after the payment of Rs 2,357 each for election duty for three phases. “All the SAP jawans have proceeded on poll duty and the situation is now quite normal,” said Manu Maharaj.

Sergeant major Sudhir Kumar Sinha said the SAP personnel tried to assault a few personnel of the district armed police on the civil lines campus when they tried to pacify the former. “There is nothing to worry about,” he told The Telegraph.

On Monday, a group of SAP jawans reached 1 Aney Marg and tried to meet the chief minister at his janata darbar to apprise him of their problems. They later met additional director-general of police (headquarters) Raj Vardhan Sharma, who assured them of all help.

“There is no question of any discrepancy in the payment of allowances for the election duty. Some might have tried to create confusion among the SAP personnel,” said director-general of police Neel Mani.

He said that it was being probed as to how confusion prevailed among the SAP jawans on payment of poll duty allowances.

Sources said that the nodal officer has been asked to seek an explanation for unscheduled visit to the chief minister’s janata darbar.