Women commandoes not good enough to protect CM,Dy CM?

The “first in the country” lot of 61 women constables of the Punjab police who,back from their training and awaiting deployment in the ‘close protection team’ of the Badals are not going to be on the coveted guard duty- at least not for the time being.

Highly placed sources in the Punjab police said it has been decided that these women commandos be not deployed in the CTPs. The decision,moved verbally,comes from the chief minister himself.

The women commandos,said sources,attracted too much of “publicity” and led to unfair comparisons with the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who was notorious for being guarded only by women security guards.

The Congress too had a field day making snide remarks about the move. The leader of the opposition Sunil Jakhar,went to the extent of saying that Sukhbir was showing signs of becoming a dictator and should remember the fate of dictators.

Following the flak,several Akali leaders had however justified the move by saying that the SAD-BJP government was giving equal status and opportunity to women and it was a matter of pride for these women to prove themselves equally efficient in doing such a tough job.

The 61 women constables were chosen from the new lot of recruitment done by the Punjab police. All of them are 5 ft 7 inches or taller. They were sent to the Punjab Police Commando Training Complex at Bahadurgarh for a one-month intensive course. They were rigorously trained,physically as well as to carry and use automatic weapons. They were to join the CPTs of the CM and deputy CM for their movement while in Chandigarh.

However instead of being made part of the CPTs these women have joined the other women security personnel deployed at the chief ministers office (CMO) in the secretariat and the CM and Dy CMs residence,to frisk women visitors.

“ We came back from our training last month. But we are yet to be deployed for the chief minister’s security duty. We have been told to first sit on duty here and learn the whole security system first,” said one of the women commandos trained at Bahadurgarh.

“ The matter has become very sensitive. And it was thought that not having women guards would be a wise thing to do,” said a Punjab police officer. He added that it was too much publicity of the move that did them in. “The Badals are on the top of the highest security threat list in the state. Even from the security point of view it was not a good idea to have such well known faces in the inner security rings,” added the officer.