Mumbai Police to replace ‘outsourced guards’ with incoming constables

The guards were deployed to the Mumbai Police in July 2023 to plug a shortage of over 7,000 constables caused by delayed recruitment

MUMBAI: As the Mumbai Police begins inducting newly minted constables, the state home department has decided to repatriate the 3,000 security guards drafted from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC) two years ago. The guards were deployed to the Mumbai Police in July 2023 to plug a shortage of over 7,000 constables caused by delayed recruitment.

Mumbai Police to replace ‘outsourced guards’ with incoming constables

These MSSC guards, trained to provide security to government establishments such as metro lines and government offices, were also deployed on the streets to assist the city police.

“When the decision was taken in July 2023, as many as 7,076 posts of constables were vacant – more than 10% of the total sanctioned posts in the Mumbai police commissionerate. Recruitment and training take at least two years, and in a sensitive city like Mumbai, we could not have such a shortfall,” said an official with the state home department.

“We therefore allowed the Mumbai police commissioner to rope in 3,000 security personnel on a temporary basis. Since trained batches of constables have started arriving, we have decided to send the MSSC personnel back to their establishment,” he said.

The first batch of 700 constables joined the police force recently and three more batches will be inducted every six months. The MSSC personnel will be sent back in corresponding batches, another home department official said. Recruitment of constables had been delayed since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a resource crunch in the government, the official explained.

The decision to induct MSSC guards had led to loud protests, with the opposition calling it a “bid to outsource police personnel”. The home department has now sent a proposal to a sub-committee of the finance department on discontinuing the 700 MSSC guards and giving an 11-month extension to the remaining 2,300-odd security personnel. Once approved by the sub-committee, a final decision will be taken by a high-power committee under the additional chief secretary of the home department.