Approximately 46,000 active police posts are lying vacant in West Bengal as of now, according to information provided by the state police directorate to the Election Commission of India (ECI) through the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.
Of the total 46,000 vacant posts, around 30,000 vacancies are for constables who form the backbone of the police force in the state, while the remaining vacancies are for other ranks.
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According to sources from the state police, among the posts of other ranks the maximum vacancies are for the sub-inspector or equivalent ranks, who represent the lowest officer level in the force.
The ECI recently requested details of the current police strength, including vacancies, as part of its early preparations for the state assembly election scheduled for next year. In response, the state police directorate reported that the force’s existing strength stands at approximately 80,000 personnel, while vacancies account for over one-third of the total sanctioned posts.
The state police directorate has already forwarded the data to the Election Commission through the office of CEO, West Bengal. It has stated that the existing strength of the forces, including officers and lower ranks stands at around 80,000, while the total number of vacant posts stands at 46,000.
Statistically, this means that over one-third of the strength in the state police forces is lying vacant as of now.
However, the list provided by the state police authorities to the ECI does not include data on civic volunteers attached to the forces since as per rule civic volunteers cannot be used in election-related duties.
Furthermore, a directive from the Calcutta High Court prohibits their deployment in law and order operations. The state government has faced criticism in the past for using civic volunteers in roles beyond their authorized scope.
Meanwhile, sources from the office of the CEO of West Bengal said that based on the available strength of the state police forces, the Election Commission will decide on the security arrangements for the polls and more especially on the ratio of state police forces and central armed police forces (CAPF) for the election purpose.
