The senior cops are said to be shocked and concerned over hundreds of policemen who were recruited in the last couple of recruitments held by the State Government could not pass the physical test for constables and head-constables after passing rankers’ examination for promotion to 304 vacant posts of sub-inspectors. The senior police officers opined that the department should learn a lesson from this and take measures required to ensure that the selected cops are fit.
The pathetic plight of policemen came to the fore at 40th battalion PAC, Haridwar on Monday when a large number of police constables and head- constables working for years in the department waded through a tough time while running five kilometers in 30 minutes for males and three kilometers in 21 minutes for female. The run is said to be the bare minimum to test their physical fitness. Around 30 of them who failed the test were admitted at a hospital as they were either injured or fell ill during the qualifying run.
Critics opine that the cops failing to meet the minimum level of physical fitness could be endangering the public and themselves. They question how can a physically unfit policeman protect the citizens or act against criminals without endangering his life.
An additional superintendent of police rank officer, on condition of anonymity revealed that he was selected as a sub-inspector in undivided Uttar Pradesh. In those times, it was mandatory for the police personnel to go under refresher training for three months every five years till they crossed 45 years of age. Cops were being trained in several activities including sports to ensure their fitness. Such training is not being provided for the cops here in the State now due to some reasons.
It has been observed that cops are increasingly using motorcycles even for covering short distances, which has led to decrease even the general exercise provided by walking.
Eventhough a constable who was well practiced for this test during last few months, said that he had completed five kilometers run in 25 minutes. The constables who had not practiced have failed to pass the test. The State Director General of Police BS Sidhu said that it has been observed that during competitions, some persons who might be experienced though over confident that affects their performance adversely. He said, “The police work more than 12 hours in a day and they do not get enough time to exercise. Sometimes they have to work additional hours due to staff crunch in police stations. However it is matter of concern for us that some policemen aged around 35 could not meet the minimum level of fitness. The department will conduct regular physical tests and all police men will have to undergo periodic training at police line,” he added.
