Bhubaneswar, Aug. 7: The state government has geared up to augment the capacity of Odisha police to meet the challenge of law and order, including the Maoist menace.
Odisha police will also be asked to play a role in maintaining peace in the industrial belt of the state.
The state government has decided to recruit as many as 11,025 personnel in the state police force to augment its capacity.
Sources said the vacancies had severely crippled the force’s function, and in many cases, the personnel, who had been trained for crime detection, were being engaged to carry out clerical jobs. To avoid it, the state government has asked the home department to recruit ministerial officers.
Of the 11,025 posts, recruitment of 7,569 posts is continuing, while recruitment of rest of the posts will shortly begin.
A number of 272 posts will be filled up in the category of sub-inspector and deputy subedar. Further recruitment will be taken up for 541 posts for the Mahila and Sishu desks at police stations.
To raise the Odisha Industrial Security Force and the 3rd Special India Reserve Battalion, the state government has directed the home department to expedite the recruitment process for 6,256 posts in the rank of constables, sepoys and assistant drivers.
Further recruitment for 2,331 posts will be done to raise the Odisha Industrial Security Force and the 3rd Special Reserve Battalion (engineering) and other armed and civil police.
For the Odisha Fire Service, recruitment of 51 posts of station officer and 990 of fireman will be accelerated.
Similarly, steps will be taken to recruit 318 other category posts such as ministerial officers for Odisha police and technical staff in the state forensic science laboratories.
Steps will also be taken to recruit 266 Group D posts for Odisha police. The 3,000 tribal youths, recruited earlier as special police officers, will be absorbed in the Odisha Auxiliary Police Force as constables.