Youth nudge Central Recruitment Board on row over upper age cap

SHILLONG, April 16: A group of young individuals met the Secretary of the Central Recruitment Board of Meghalaya Police, Mary GT Sangma, in Mawlai Mawroh on Tuesday with the purpose of seeking clarification regarding the revised guidelines on the upper age limit for police force recruitment issued by the department.
Led by youth activist Barilang Pyngrope, the group advocated for aligning the upper age limit for police recruitment with the Office Memorandum (OM) of 2022, which extended eligibility from 27 to 32 years, and for Schedule Tribes, from 32 to 37 years for various government posts.
However, the recently issued advertisement by the Police department on March 6 introduced a different set of guidelines, specifying an upper age limit ranging from 21 to 27 years for Unarmed Branch (UB) Sub Inspectors and 18 to 21 years for UB constables, with a five-year relaxation for ST/SC/OST candidates.
Following their meeting with the Central Recruitment Board secretary, Pyngrope expressed disappointment while speaking to reporters here, stating that the authority claimed they lacked jurisdiction to amend the upper age limit. They were advised to approach the Personnel department for any corrigendum on the revised guidelines.
Pyngrope announced plans to meet senior government officials on April 22 at the Additional Secretariat to address the issue.
The police force currently has 2,968 vacancies to be filled, spanning various roles within the department.