What drives engineers, MBAs to take up lathis

GURUGRAM: Ishwar Singh (29) completed his MBA in 2010 and got a job in the private sector. But he was unhappy and soon, left it. Singh had always wanted to be a cop and tried passing the exam for sub-inspectors but could not. So, he joined Gurugram police as a constable in May.
One needs to pass only Class XII to be a constable but Singh, with his MBA degree, is happy with his job. “I wanted to join the police force. I tried for SI but got selected for constable,” he said, adding he had also wanted a government job. Now, he is posted at the police commissioner’s office.


Neeraj (28) completed his engineering in electronics and telecommunication from Maharishi Dayanand University. Unable to get a job, Singh worked at a call centre for a few months. “I left in 2013 and stopped working altogether,” said Neeraj, adding he was looking for a government job when he was selected to work as a constable. Posted in Rapid Action Force, Neeraj has no qualms about his job. “I am happy to be in the police force,” he said.

Neeraj and Ishwar are not isolated cases. Due to lack of suitable opportunities in the job market, several qualified professionals are joining the police force as constables. Over 50% of the new recruits who joined on May 1 are overqualified. Out of the 1,053 new constables, 572 are MBA, BTech, MTech, MCA, MCom and other degree holders.

Former police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said many graduates and postgraduates have joined the force. “The new recruits with better educational qualifications are being given office jobs where they can do documentation and computer-related works,” he said, adding many recruits with degrees in computer science and from the engineering background have been posted with the cyber cell. He said the new recruits would help in new-age policing.

Officials attribute recruitment of overqualified youths as constables to increasing number of people with higher qualifications and transparency in the recruitment process. Most new recruits TOI contacted attributed lack of job opportunities and attraction of a government job as primary reasons for joining as constables.

However, a senior police official said recruitment of people with degrees led to attrition. “Nearly 5-10% of the new recruits will leave this job for better opportunities,” he said, adding that some of them were bound to get frustrated with their job profile. The nature of the job, such as standing for long hours at a traffic post, was why people would be inclined to quit, he said.

But seasoned cops said that a degree was not the only index of intellectual capabilities. “Many people with degrees are not capable of anything. They will continue at this job since it is a government job,” said a cop. While a minimum qualification is required to work as a constable, there is no upper limit. “People without jobs try their luck and get the job,” he added.

The newly recruited constables, however, have bigger dreams. Singh said he would continue to give exams for senior positions. “I am a constable now but will keep applying for the post of a sub-inspector,” he said.

Karamvir Rao (24) completed his engineering (mechanical) from Ludhiana and joined Gurugram police as a constable in May. “ The paper was easy and I got the job,” said Karamvir, who is the son of a farmer. He said financial issues, uncertainty about jobs and the attraction of a government job were reasons for joining the force. Posted at the Sector 53 police station, Karamvir said he was preparing for exams to become a sub-inspector (SI) and SSC exams. “Now, I can support my family and prepare for exams,” he said.

Yudhister Singh (26), the son of a Haryana roadways employee, completed his MCA from Maharishi Dayanand University and since then, he has been preparing for SSC exams. “They were hiring constables and in the hope of getting a government job, I applied and got selected,” said Singh, adding his father had recently died and he had to support his family. Posted at the Cyber police station, he is still preparing for SSC exams.

Darshan Singh (23) completed his MSc from Central University of Haryana and joined Gurugram police. Singh said getting a government job was his primary motivation for joining the force. The son of a government teacher, Singh, who is posted as a computer operator at the Women police station of Manesar, said he was preparing to become a sub-inspector.