Maharashtra plans bond,fine as intel cadre loses recruits to lucrative jobs

Top Maharashtra Police sources revealed that at least 12 assistant intelligence officers (AIOs),from a batch of around 70 officers recruited last year,have recently quit the cadre to take up better-paying jobs. It is feared that more could follow suit. Earlier,eight of the 84 recruits in the previous batch had opted for lucrative private sector employment.

An AIO draws a monthly salary roughly at par with that of a head constable,which is below Rs 20,000,while senior intelligence officers (SIOs) are eligible for a salary roughly equal to that of an assistant police inspector,a little over Rs 25,000 per month.

“At least 12 assistant intelligence officers and a couple of senior intelligence officers have left the intelligence cadre recently. These are people with good educational qualification,and they often land higher-paying jobs by taking competitive examinations. From the last batch of officers,one AIO cleared the MPSC (Maharashtra Public Service Commission) exam and has been posted as a deputy superintendent of police. Another recruit quit to become a treasury officer,a gazetted officer’s post,” a source said.

Officers said another batch of 84 intelligence officers would be recruited soon. Advertisements have been placed seeking applications from candidates,who are graduates with a command over English. Those clearing an objective-type examination will have to appear for a subjective-type examination,followed by a round of interviews. Some of those recruited as intelligence officers hold post-graduate degrees,sources said. “Plans are afoot to make fresh recruits sign a three-year bond of service in the intelligence department,and to make them pay the entire training cost in case they quit before that. The intelligence officers are trained at the Maharashtra Intelligence Academy in Pune before being pressed into field duties,” one of them said.

The cadre of dedicated intelligence officers was first proposed after the July 2006 serial train blasts in Mumbai but gained momentum only after 26/11 as both state and Central intelligence agencies came in for strong criticism for intelligence failures. This prompted the Maharashtra Police to act on its dormant proposal for AIOs and SIOs and the first batch was inducted in 2009.

Following the 7/11 train blasts,the government had announced that half the cadre in the State Intelligence Department (SID) would be recruited as dedicated intelligence officers and,to ensure continuity and efficiency,they would retire from the SID and not be transferred to other police departments.