Baddi gets more police staff

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, June 24

The Baddi police might be patting its back for having secured an additional staff of 66 policemen in this crime-prone industrial cluster of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh, but the decision to retrieve 60 Home Guard jawans as an economy measure has left much to be desired.

The state government has accorded sanction to fill 66 posts on June 13 as a measure to strengthen its infrastructure and these posts include head constables, women constables, constables, sub-inspectors and an ASI for its police stations and police posts in Baddi. There are five police stations, including one for women, which was notified as a separate police district more than 10 years ago. This was earlier part of Solan district

The posts had been cleared in the state Cabinet meeting held in the first week of March and owing to the model code of conduct, these had not been notified earlier.

The Baddi police have a staff of about 310 policemen and about 200 Home Guards jawans.

Baddi SP Rohit Malpani said the staff enhancement would help them in effective policing as being a border area, additional staff was needed.

The proposal to reduce the Home Guards strength by 60 as communicated by the state government will drastically reduce the staff deployed for patrolling and other such duties as the area shares a porous border. Though more staff is required for effective policing, the Police Department is content that at least some staff will be made available soon.

The proposal to reduce the Home Guards will only make six additional men available for the area.