Of late Assam has been laying great thrust on a fitter police force. With a view to make fitness a way of life for all policemen – both officers and jawans – the state government has taken two bold steps. First came the news from the Chief Minister himself that 300 policemen would have to take VRS (voluntary retirement) because of their addiction to alcohol and other harmful substances.
Apparently, these policemen were on the radar for quite some time and despite repeated warnings, no action was taken by them to get rid of their addiction. When the VRS step was announced, the social media was agog with news flashes of this rather bold decision to trim the police force so that new fitter entrants can come in.
This was followed up soon after by an announcement from the DGP Assam that all policemen who are overweight have to lose weight (except those with medical disorders like thyroid issues). A three-month deadline was set and those who cannot meet it will be offered VRS. The IPS officer tweeted that the BMI (body mass index) of all police personnel, including IPS/APS officers, will be professionally recorded.
https://twitter.com/gpsinghips/status/1658339455441453057?s=48&t=5Lao5GenkterdzeOFkBODA
He said, “We plan to give three months time to all personnel till August 15th and then start BMI assessment in next fifteen days. All those who are in obese (BMI 30+) category would be offered another three months time to reduce weight (till November end).”
When Indian Masterminds contacted Assam Police for an update on these two plans, DIG (Admn) Partha Sarathi Mahanta, IPS, said that right now, they cannot comment much on it. But, “Just for your information, both are under process,” was all he could reveal. Hopefully, very soon, we would get more detailed updates on the implementation and progress of the two ‘towards a fitter police force’ plans.
