Chandigarh: Police dept to hold talent hunt to identify cops’ expertise

A recently recruited woman constable, who has studied BTech, requesting anonymity, said, “We are yet to be informed about any such plan. It will be good for our professional growth also.”

Sources said, “A handful of police personnel will be selected in the talent hunt programme. The selected personnel will be interviewed by senior officers, including DGP Sanjay Baniwal. In the last several years, officers have observed that there is a shortage of personnel on the ground, especially those with good investigative skills.”

SP (headquarters) Manoj Kumar Meena said, “We have chalked out the entire procedure to select constables as per their interests and qualification. However, it does not mean that they will not be deputed on general duty and day-to-day works in the police stations and other wings. They will be treated like other police personnel, however, their expertise will also be put to use.”

Sources said, a brigade is also being made on ground level for cultivating on-field intelligence about criminals. At least 34,000 people have been shortlisted for written test, out of 2.14 lakh applications for 520 advertised posts in July 2017. Later, only 472 were recruited in the Chandigarh police in March 2020. They were trained for at least one year at the Punjab police training centre, Jahan Khelan in Hoshiarpur district in Punjab.