The Delhi Police and Home Ministry have informed the Delhi High Court that the delay in recruitment of police personnel from Northeast states was because of lack of responses from the eight states. Filing separate affidavits before a High Court bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, the Delhi Police and Home Ministry said while there has been no response from six of the eight states, the Assam Police said they cannot send constable-rank personnel to Delhi on deputation because of a shortage of manpower. The affidavit states that Sikkim, in its response, said no personnel were willing to be transferred to Delhi on deputation. The Delhi Police had in February sent requests to the Northeast states to send constable and sub-inspector rank personnel to the capital as Delhi Police personnel reportedly have difficulty interacting with victims of crimes from Northeast states due to language barriers. The High Court had earlier this year taken suo motu cognizance of the death of Northeast student Nido Taniam following an alleged racial attack in the city. The court had directed the government to take several measures to ensure the safety of people from Northeast states residing in the capital. The police affidavit also stated that while a recruitment drive and physical test were conducted in Guwahati, very few cleared the physical exam. Only three of the 13 men and one of the 17 women candidates qualified the physical and medical exam for the post of constable, while 61 of 102 male candidates qualified to take the written exam for head constable. Meanwhile, in a status report giving details of various meetings and sensitisation programmes, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has suggested that the Centre could consider exempting people from the Northeast from the mandatory Hindi paper to increase the number of people from the Northeast in judicial services. “.instead, during probation, if appointed, the candidates may acquire a working knowledge of Hindi as is the case with candidates who are selected for the Indian Civil Services,” DSLSA suggests.
