Special Force fails to ‘hit’ target

SHILLONG: The much publicized  Special Force-10 to  raise 1,795 police personnel, both men and women,  failed in getting the target number as only 400 persons were selected.
The selected personnel are currently undergoing training.
It was the ambitious plan of the Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to raise 1795 personnel for SF-10, primarily aimed at attracting the youths who are vulnerable to militancy to join the police force and serve the State.
An official source said on Monday that only 400 trainees were selected though the target was to raise 1795 personnel as part of SF-10 aimed at training them to tackle extreme situations including militancy, riots, law and order among others.
According to the source, it was a rule set by the police to make an applicant run 10 kilometers with just 50 minutes which made it impossible for many applicants to get through the physical test. The difficult terrain has added to the problem.The purpose of SF-10 was to get the state’s own police force to tackle any eventuality in the state without depending on the central paramilitary forces or Indian Reserve Battalion who are very often requisitioned by the State Government during emergency situation.
Moreover, there were instances when the para-military forces were called back by the Centre during elections elsewhere in the country.
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