Badals to have special commando unit for security
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS

Moga, October 7
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who holds the portfolio of the Home Department, seems to have no faith in the commandos already serving in the state police.

Currently protected jointly by the commandos of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the state police under Z-plus security cover, he has now decided to constitute a Special Protection Unit (SPU) in the Punjab Police.

The SPU will be on the lines of the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protects the President, Prime Minister, members of the Gandhi family and former Prime Ministers. Documents procured by The Tribune reveal that commandos of the SPU would be recruited from the officers and jawans of the central police forces and the state police on various ranks through deputation, transfer and direct recruitment.

But according to the conditions laid down in the rules framed by the state Home Ministry, only officers and jawans below the age of 40 years (two-year relaxation for technical and training staff), who have served for at least five years in the SPG, would be considered for this new assignment.

Since the inception of the SPG in 1985 after the assassination of late PM Indira Gandhi, no officer or policemen (except IPS officers) from the Punjab Police got a chance to serve in the SPG. Therefore going by the present conditions, the chances of those serving in the state police for this elite job assignment seem to be bleak.

A senior functionary in the office of the Deputy CM on the condition of anonymity said that a three-member committee of senior IPS officers of the state has been constituted for the recruitment process.

The committee has started the exercise of alluring SPG officials by asking them to resign from their present assignments and to join the SPU by offering them lucrative salary and perks.

It was learnt that about 200 to 250 officers on various ranks and jawans would be recruited in the SPU, which would be broadly divided into four categories -- operations, training, intelligence and administration.

The operations component will have a communications wing, a technical wing and a transport wing while the training component will deal with the continuous process of training of commandos. The intelligence component will make threat assessments, internal intelligence and verification of character and antecedents of the visitors and the administration wing will look after the HR work, procurement and other official matters.