DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, August 22, 2018.
The state
government is yet to fill 35,897 police posts, as per a reply given under RTI.
These are to be filled at the director general of police level, from across the
state, from 61,494 that were sanctioned.
The
information was provided under RTI to applicant Jeetendra Ghadge. The reply
dated June 28, 2018, said the figure stood at 25,597 (which were filled), and
others were to be filled by the government. "There was some clarification
that was needed and hence there was a delay in releasing the figures,"
claimed Ghadge.
The figures
come even as the state fared poorly in the National Crime Records Bureau
statistics of 2016. Maharashtra had seen the most number of victims of murders
of children below six years of age, as per National Crime Record Bureau data,
among other states. With respect to crime against women, it stood third in the
country.
As per the
details provided, most posts were filled in June 2011 and March 2018. During
these two times, 18,434 posts were filled. The state said that the posts to be
filled also include those for the commissionerate that is being formed for
Pimpri-Chinchwad. As of now, it comes under the Pune commissionerate.
The state
government has sanctioned an additional 2,633 posts that needed to be filled at
different levels in three stages. "The ratio of police to public is very
low as it is. To maintain law and order, man power is required. Home department
and government should give most importance to this and sanction as many posts
as possible, and as early as they can. The figure they have mentioned is of
2011. With time, it is likely that more vacancies may have occurred. They should
give priority to the matter, and fill up the sanctioned posts," said
Ghadge.