Weekly off to MP police from January

Police personnel in Madhya Pradesh will get a weekly off from next year.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath made this announcement in a meeting with top police brass at the police headquarters on Wednesday in Bhopal.

The Congress had promised weekly off to police force in its election manifesto.

Reviewing law and order situation in the state, the chief minister also said that more recruitment is required to strengthen the force and work in this direction will start soon.

The chief minister was accorded a guard of honour as he reached the police headquarters.

Emphasising the need for greater security for women in the state, the chief minister said that the Madhya Pradesh Police would have to be more modern and gender sensitive in its outlook.

Women's security was one of the major issues in the Assembly election. The state fares worst on this count in the country with dubious distinction of being top in rapes in India for the last many years.

Kamal Nath said one of the reasons behind lax law-and-order is some police personnel’s overstay on the same posting.

‘I will do away with this practice”, he added.

"In the last 15 years of the BJP rule, a sizeable number of police officers, particularly at the district level, have not been transferred for years as they enjoyed political patronage. RSS leaders used to decide which officer will be posted where," he said.

Director General of Police Rishi Kumar Shukla gave a presentation in the meeting, highlighting steps taken towards women's security, causes and effects of stress on policemen due to overburden and disparity in wages.

The chief minister promised to look into all these issues.