Assam police wants to recruit youth from insurgency-hit areas

Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, June 17

With more than 12,000 positions vacant across its ranks — 8,000 in its constabulary alone — the Assam Police has proposed the state government conduct a special drive to recruit youngsters from backward insurgency-hit areas, who are susceptible to be lured into ranks of insurgent outfits.

The chairman of the State Level Police Recruitment Board, DGP, Pradeep Kumar said on Saturday that the board has proposed reservation of 10 per cent jobs in the state police for youngsters of backward areas of the state like Sadiya Dhemaji in eastern Assam as well as areas in Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council. The state government is working on a new transparent recruitment policy for the state police.

Among the propositions is reserving 6 per cent of the police jobs for family members of policemen killed in counter-insurgency operations; 2 per cent for former militants; 4 per cent for serving special police officers (SPOs); 2 per cent in sports quota for those who have represented the state in national level events or are recognised as state level players; and 5 per cent for trained home guards working with the state police.

Another suggestion for establishing three Indian Reserve (IR) battalions in Assam has been sent to the central government for its approval. Additional Director General (administration) LR Bishnoi said recruitment would begin once the proposals were sanctioned.

Constabulary in two insurgency-hit hill districts in Assam was only 0.2 per cent, 1.67 per cent in Bodoland Territorial District Council area and 6 per cent in backward insurgency-hit areas in eastern Assam, Bishnoi said.

The state police have been hamstrung by severe manpower crisis, especially in respect of civil police. Out of the total sanctioned strength of 74,000 personnel, 12,000 positions, including 79 DSPs and 154 Inspectors, are vacant.

The current police-public ratio in the state is 107 personnel per one lakh population, much below the standard 210 police personnel per lakh population as prescribed by the UNO.

“With 35 Assam Police battalions in place, there is no shortage of armed police personnel, but the crisis is in civil police where the strength has remained almost what it was 25 years back. As a result police stations are under tremendous pressure and investigation process has suffered,” Pradeep Kumar said.