Odisha govt eases norms for redeployment of sepoys in police stations
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government has revised the eligibility criteria for immediate redeployment of sepoys (constable ranked personnel) from two special security (SS) battalions to police stations, which have seen acute shortage of staff due to Covid infection among the cops.
According to the home department’s order on October 16, a sepoy aged 23 or above and with only 2 years of experience in the SS battalions, located in Sambalpur and Keonjhar, can be redeployed in police stations. Earlier, the eligibility rule was very stringent where a sepoy would have to complete 15 years in the SS battalions and attain 40 years at the time of redeployment in police stations.
In view of the shortage of staff in police stations, the state police headquarters had in August proposed to the state government to relax the eligibility criteria. “The government has been pleased to relax the provisions of Odisha police service (method of recruitment and conditions of service of constables) order, 2010,” read the letter to DGP Abhay by home department’s special secretary Santosh Bala.
While only 20% of the total vacancies (post of constables) in police stations used to be filled up through redeployment of sepoys from battalions, the government has now allowed 100% filling up of the vacancies from the battalions.
The state police headquarters plans to redeploy at least 1500 sepoys from the two SS battalions, which were established in 2006 to provide protection to the police stations and jails of several districts in view of the Maoist menace. “Downsizing of the two SS battalions is absolutely necessary as Naxal menace in those districts (Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Rourkela, Keonjhar, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Mayurbhanj) have been reduced substantially. The armed police forces created for security purposes in those districts should now be rationalized and instead the civil police (police stations) should be strengthened,” a senior police officer said.
Police said it is not possible to expect sanction of new posts for police stations in view of the government’s austerity measure. It is also a difficult and lengthy process to conduct direct recruitments to fill up the existing vacancies in the police force in the wake of Covid pandemic. “Redeployment of the sepoys of the two battalions as constables in police stations will be a quick step to strengthen the civil police,” the officer said. Earlier in August, the state government rationalized 905 posts of the special operation group (SOG) in favour of police stations.