Newly-recruited constables of Calcutta Police rehearse for their passing-out parade. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

The key to a smarter and tougher city police force could lie with the Indian Army.

Personnel from the army will train Calcutta Police?s latest batch of 375 recruits. ?For the first time, we have roped in armymen to train the newly-recruited constables. The idea behind it is to make them smarter and instil discipline in the force,? joint commissioner (armed police) Zulfiquar Hasan told Metro.

The move to use armymen to train newly-recruited constables was formulated six months ago. The plan was put into action following a go-ahead from chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is also in charge of the police department.

The constables will undergo a rigorous training module of six months. ?The training module is on a par with the paramilitary forces. The focus is mainly on physical training? to make them fitter and tougher,? Hasan explained. ?Even the police trainer underwent a training,? he added.

So long, the cops had been following a training schedule introduced by the British. ?The age-old training module needed to be changed. Approaching the army was the best available option for us,? Hasan felt. ?Everybody is image-conscious these days. Why should Calcutta Police lag behind?? he asked.

According to police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, some of the newly-trained constables will later be sent for commando training.

?We will select the brightest among them and they will be sent for commando training to Hyderabad. We engaged the armymen keeping this in mind and for preparing them well in advance,? he said.

Hasan, who oversees training at Police Training School, said the newly-trained constables will be deployed in all 48 police stations across the city after a flag march on June 26. All the senior officers, including the police chief, will be present on the occasion.

Besides rigorous training sessions, some new rules and regulations on the lines of the paramilitary forces are also being introduced. For instance, if the approved greeting for policemen was ?namaskar? so long, it will now be ?Jai Hind?. ?It sounds more patriotic,? reasoned a Lalbazar officer.

Changes have also been incorporated in the marching techniques.