Stone-pelting against Army fails to deter youngsters, over 5,000 Kashmiris apply for Delhi Police jobs

Stone-pelting against security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has failed to deter thousands of young men and women from the conflict-hit state from aspiring to become a cop. The Delhi Police have received as many as 5,460 applications, including 708 from women, for the posts of constable.

According to the Delhi Police officers, this is the first time that such a massive number of applications have been received from the state. "Earlier, hardly anybody from J&K applied," a Delhi Police officer said.

J&K locals serving the security forces often face threats or have been attacked by terrorists in the turmoil-ridden state. In fact, terrorists killed a 22-year-old Army officer from J&K on Wednesday.

It's not just J&K that is making new records in terms of applications. Other insurgency-hit areas such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and North-Eastern states have also shown enthusiastic response. The number of applications coming in from these areas is unusually high this time, with over 30,000 applications coming from each region.

"We are very happy with the high number of applications from J&K and other insurgency-hit states," a senior police officer, involved in the recruitment drive, said.

In fact, the number of applications received from the states of J&K, North-East, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, all of them facing insurgency of some sort, account for around 8 per cent of the total applications received. A large number of people from other states live in the national Capital, and induction of people from various states would only be beneficial for the force, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has asked the Delhi Police to make the recruitment process more transparent. Earlier, the Police Department itself would conduct the examination, but this time, it has signed a memorandum with the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to recruit constables in a fair manner. Also, the exam will be computer-based to prevent any leaks, as have happened in the past.

The Delhi Police have set up 86 exam centres all across the country. "At some centres, such as Orissa, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala, the selection process has been concluded. The physical training exam has also been video-graphed," an officer said.

...& ANALYSIS

Generally, people from neighbouring states of Delhi apply for jobs in the Delhi Police. There is little representation from other parts of the country. The high number of applications from conflict-hit zones this time is a good sign. A more cosmopolitan Delhi Police will be beneficial for the Capital, which has people from all over the country.

Total number of applications received from various states