Special Representative
GUWAHATI, June 09 2021: In order to augment manpower in the state police force, Assam government will raise 10 special commando battalions at par with National Security Guards in the coming days besides recruiting 2000 police sub-inspectors to reduce work pressure on officials at police state level.
Assam chief minister and home minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma announced today after chairing the state’s first conference of Superintendents of Police (SPs’) at a resort in Kaziranga National Park on Wednesday.
“We have decided to raise 10 professional commando battalions, comparable with NSG (National Security Guards), in Assam in the coming days. The new battalions shall be trained to deal with emerging crimes and rising need for additional police forces,” Dr Sarma said.
The commandos will be posted mainly in critical/sensitive areas along the inter-state border, sensitive areas in Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and hills districts.
He further informed that the recruitment process would be proportionate to the training capacity of the state while police academies across the country will also be requested to help train personnel of these commando battalions.
Zero tolerance
The chief minister said that the meeting resolved to work aggressively and adhere to a zero-tolerance policy against drug peddling/transit and cattle smuggling from West Bengal and other states.
“Seven new forensic labs will also be set up in the state in the next six months keeping in mind that arrested drug smugglers get bail due to lack of forensic labs. This will be another step towards modernisation which will give strength to the state police force,” Sarma said.
The chief minister categorically asserted that “Assam cannot be a transit route for drugs, let alone consumption.”
“Besides, we will adopt a zero against cattle smuggling, having resolved not to allow any cattle smugglers to enter our boundary. We will strike at the root when it comes to making Assam free from drugs and illegal cattle smuggling,” Sarma said.
Police workload
The chief minister said that a two-shift duty routine will be started in all police stations to reduce the workload of the police force. “Ideally, we need three shifts, but that may not be possible. So we look to start two shifts in police stations for which a new recruitment drive will be conducted this year. The employment provided would be a part of the one lakh jobs that we promised,” Sarma said.
The chief minister further said that additional one-month compulsory leave will be granted to all jawans of armed Assam Police battalions every year to allow them to spend time with their families. This leave will be I addition to the Extraordinary Leave allotted to them. However, jawans staying with family in official accommodation in battalion headquarters will not be able avail this one-month leave.
“Annual free health check-ups for all police personnel will be conducted in the state and modality for it will be prepared soon,” he added.
Key aspects such as law and order, organised crime, intelligence gathering, etc., were discussed during the first Assam Police SPs conference.
“Such meetings will be held every six months. The next meeting will be held in Duliajan in November or December. We also plan to have similar meetings with DCs, the first of which will be held in Diphu between August 15 and 30,” he said.
Besides, there will be meetings with both SPs and DCs in Guwahati from time to time, he added.