Punjab DGP seeks details of ineligible SHOs

Chandigarh: Taking note of the fact that a number of police stations across Punjab are being headed by station house officers (SHOs) ineligible to hold the post, DGP Dinkar Gupta has sought details of all such officers within three days.
In a communication addressed to all inspectors-general of police ranges, commissioners of police, SSPs and AIG, government railway police (GRP), the Punjab police chief said according to Section 13 (2) of the Punjab Police Act (PPA), 2007, and instructions issued from time to time provide that each police station shall be headed by an SHO, not below the rank of inspector or sub-inspector, and officials on attachment from armed battalions are debarred from certain postings as SHOs of police stations.
It is an open secret that there has been political interference in the posting of SHOs in the state because of which many influential and some ineligible police officers close to politicians or even senior police officers get posting of their choice, whether it has been the Congress or the SAD-BJP government in power.
“It has been observed the provisions of the Punjab Police Act, 2007, and relevant government instructions are not being followed and in some cases, officials holding local ranks have been posted as SHOs. In certain districts and commissionerates, SHOs (have) not been posted in some police stations and additional SHOs have been allowed to perform duty there as officiating SHOs, which is not permissible as per the instructions,” said the DGP.
Now, the DGP has asked all the IG ranges, commissioners of police and SSPs to send the information regarding officials who are posted as SHOs in violation of the instructions within three days on the email address of IG police headquarters. The officers have to categorically submit the details about police stations having SHOs without substantive rank of at least sub-inspector and police stations where inspectors or sub-inspectors of Punjab Armed Police (PAP) cadre are posted as SHOs.
Recruitment drive delayed
“There are 422 police stations in Punjab and we have enough eligible officers in the rank of inspector and sub-inspector,” a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said. Though there are vacancies of sub-inspectors in the state police, the Punjab government’s recruitment drive has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The DGP had announced in March that the police would soon fill up 10,000 vacancies of sub-inspectors, head constables, and constables.