ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Special police officers in Punjab have little to look forward to

A large number of young men, who were recruited as Special Police Officers when Punjab militancy was at its peak, are now frustrated over the state government's failure to absorb them into the Punjab police cadre.

Mostly hailing from rural areas and coming from poor families, these boys are also unhappy that the government has made no provision for them to avail of a number of facilities like free bus travel in state transport buses. With a meagre salary of Rs 1,500 a month, the SPOs are finding it difficult to make both ends meet. The situation is even more miserable for those who are married and have no other sources of income.

Creation of the SPO's post was the brainchild of former state police chief K P S Gill, the main motive behind it being to wean away youth in villages from the influence of terrorists. Many of the SPOs were posted at pickets in sensitive villages in the border districts, and were successful in repulsing many terrorist attacks.

The previous Congress government and the present Akali-BJP government have been declaring from time to time that all eligible SPOs will be absorbed into the Punjab police while others would be given Class IV jobs. However, progress in this direction has been very tardy, mainly because the Punjab police already has surplus manpower and there are no vacancies at the constable level.

According to official records, during the past year only 1,830 SPOs were recruited into police or were in the process of being absorbed, including those who were enlisted under the orders of the Punjab and Haryana high court.

Official records reveal that at present there are 14,950 SPOs in the state, of these only 2,850 are eligible to be taken into the police force. Ineligible SPOs include those who are either overage, do not have the required educational qualifications and also who are not physically fit.

The duty hours of the SPOs are the same as that of a Punjab police constable, but they are denied facilities that a policeman gets, besides which they are not entitled to free bus travel nor are they given any travel or conveyance allowance.

They are also not entitled to any accommodation in the police lines or in police housing colonies. As a result, many of those posted in cities and towns are staying in rented accommodation.

Another problem the SPOs face is that at times their monthly salaries are delayed. Perhaps the only reason for their continuing in service is that they are apprehensive that once they quit they might not find another job.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report