Delhi CP writes to central armed police forces, seeks officers on deputation

According to a copy of the letter seen by HT, there are 700 posts available for lateral entry between the ranks of constables and inspectors.

Paving the way for lateral entry of personnel from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), the Delhi Police has written to the heads of the five forces to send their personnel on deputation for an initial period of three years.

The letter was sent by Delhi Police chief Rakesh Asthana’s office on January 10, addressed to the chiefs of the paramilitary forces (CAPFs), asking them to send applications of “willing and eligible” personnel for a period of three years, which could be extended to five years. (HT)

According to a copy of the letter seen by HT, there are 700 posts available for lateral entry between the ranks of constables and inspectors. The letter was sent by Asthana’s office on January 10, addressed to the chiefs of the paramilitary forces(CAPFs) asking them to send applications of “willing and eligible” personnel for a period of three years, which could be extended to five years.

The five central forces include Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

According to the letter, 375 constables, 60 head constables, 20 sub-inspectors and 5 inspectors would be posted to different police units within the force. And, 240 constables on deputation would be those who are experts in units such as finger print bureau, dog handling, drill instruction and unarmed combat.

The five forces must also send a “vigilance clearance and integrity” certificate of the candidate when applying for the post, the letter said. The heads of the CAPFs must also send the annual confidential report(ACR) along with details of major or minor penalties, if any, that the candidates have received. The candidates must be less than 56 years old, according to the letter.

To be sure, this is not the first time that junior police personnel from forces such as CRPF, BSF or CISF will be joining Delhi police. There are many serving inspectors and ACPs, who joined Delhi police from CISF and CRPF on deputation and were later inducted into the force.

But, this will be the first time that recruitment on such scale is being done.

“The lateral entrants will be posted in specific departments, where their expertise could be used. For example, an inspector from CISF could join the security department. Security is an important issue in the national Capital today,” a police officer, who asked not to be named, said.

Senior officers, especially those who are from the Indian Police Service (IPS) are regularly transferred from the Delhi Police to the paramilitary forces and vice versa. Until his appointment as the Delhi police commissioner, Asthana was the chief of the Border Security Force (BSF). Former commissioner SN Shrivastava was in the CRPF when he was appointed the Delhi police chief in February 2020.

Junior Delhi police personnel such as constables or mid-level ones such as inspectors also join CBI and NIA on deputation.

Retired Delhi police ACP, Rajender Singh, who served the force for over three decades, said, “If you look at the larger picture, this is a very good initiative. A trained person from an outside force will use his/her experience and improve police’s productivity. At the same time, the police headquarters should ensure that only deserving candidates are selected. The headquarters must also maintain balance between serving police personnel and those on deputation when it comes to delegation of responsibilities. There should not be mistrust. No one should feel at a disadvantage in terms of promotion or posting.”

Another police expert, advocate LN Rao, who retired as a DCP in Delhi police, said such experiments have in the past yielded little success. “Senior officers from outside come here in leadership roles and deliver give good results. The present commissioner came from BSF and is doing well for Delhi police. But at the junior level, a transfer like this may not work. Instead of getting people from outside, the police headquarters must promote their own personnel or quickly fill up the vacancies.”