Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced plans to recruit 15,000 to 20,000 personnel and promote around 5,000 police personnel as part of his efforts to strengthen the state police force.
Addressing a press conference after a two-day conference of senior police officers, Sarma said maintaining law and order would remain a key priority and directed the police to ensure that the law-and-order situation in Assam was not disturbed under any circumstances.
He said the conviction rate of the Assam Police had increased significantly from around 8 per cent in 2020 to 29.30 per cent at present. The chief minister attributed the improvement partly to the timely submission of charge sheets and said the government aimed to raise the conviction rate further to 35 per cent.
Sarma said two new battalions would be formed to strengthen the Assam Police, including one for disaster management and another for security-related requirements of Oil India and ONGC.
The government is also focusing on expediting promotions within the police force, with around 5,000 promotions planned, he said.
Sarma said the Lachit Borphukan Police Academy would be upgraded and given a national-level status.
He added that the next conference of police superintendents would be held in Bongaigaon in February and said directions had been issued to implement the decisions taken at the current conference within the next six months.
On police housing, the chief minister said the government was planning to substantially increase accommodation for personnel. Against a police force of around 90,000, there are currently only about 10,000 police houses, he said, adding that the number would be increased to 30,000.
Sarma also announced plans to constitute an Anti-Narcotics Task Force to intensify the fight against drug trafficking. The process of setting up the force is expected to be completed within a month.
He said the government would seek stricter punishment for drug dealers, including an attempt to increase the punishment to two years, and would pursue the seizure of properties linked to drug trafficking. The proposed force would also undertake investigations into economic offences, he said.
The chief minister also raised concerns over the comparatively low number of medical seats secured by students from Assam. He said he had appealed to national organisations to launch a movement focused on education.
"Our children are getting very few seats in medical colleges. I have told national organisations that now is the time to launch an education movement," Sarma said.
