Guwahati: Assam Director General of Police (DGP), GP Singh, on Tuesday, announced that 48 personnel have been dismissed from service, more than 250 have been handed voluntary or compulsory retirements, and close to 600 have received commendations or medals for good performance so far this year.
“The three important aspects in Assam Police‘s journey towards change are training, reward, and punishment,” Singh said in a statement.
“By bringing these three aspects together, the public of Assam will receive the active cooperation of a changed, professional, and people-friendly police force,” DGP Singh said
The DGP did not specify the reasons for the dismissals or retirements, but in May, he had said that an exercise to get rid of “deadwood” from the police force would be undertaken in all of its organisations and wings.
He had said a list of about 680 personnel, who are purportedly habitual drinkers or obese, has been drawn, and after a multi-tier thorough review of the names, those found unfit for duty will be offered voluntary retirement.
The force had also begun an ambitious Body Mass Index (BMI) test of all police personnel from August 16 with the DGP himself taking the screening test.
Nearly 2.5 per cent of 70,161 personnel tested were found obese (BMI more than 30) and they will be under medical care for the next three months to make them fit, Singh had said in September.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had previously “strongly advocated for removing the ‘dead wood’ from the police force – habitual drinkers, those with extreme obesity, and with charges of corruption against them – to turn the force into a responsive and action-oriented one,” during a meeting with top brass of the force. The total strength of the state police force is around 70,000.
The DGP also announced that during the period, 4,807 cops were promoted, 455 received the Director General’s Commendation Certificate, 88 won the Director General’s Medal, 37 personnel were conferred with the CM Assam Medal, four with the Union Home Minister’s Medal, and eight with the President’s Gallantry Medal.
The President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service were awarded to one personnel each this year.