Police personnel on duty surpass sanctioned strength by 35%: Data

West Bengal, Punjab, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir have the maximum numbers of people getting police protection, even as the all-India figure reduced by nearly nine per cent in 2019, according to official data.

Also, the number of police personnel put on protection duty in 2018 and 2019 for ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges, bureaucrats, etc., outnumbered their sanctioned strength for the job by around 35 per cent, showed the latest data released by the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D).

The number of people getting police protection across India stood at 19,467 in 2019 and 21,300 in 2018 -- a reduction of 1,833 (or 8.7 per cent), the BPR&D stated in its latest data on police organisations updated till January 1, 2020.

The number of police personnel sanctioned for protection duty in 2019 was 43,556, whereas 66,043 personnel were deployed for the job, the data showed.

In 2018, the sanctioned strength was 40,031, while 63,061 police personnel were deployed on protection duty, it revealed.

West Bengal had the maximum of 3,142 people under police protection in 2019, followed by Punjab (2,594), Bihar (2,347) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,184), according to the data.

In 2018, Bihar led the tally with 4,677 people, followed by West Bengal (2,769), Punjab (2,522) and Jammu and Kashmir (1,493), it showed.

However, the maximum sanctioned strength and deployment of police personnel in such duties took place in Delhi, where the number of protectees stood at 503 in 2018 and 501 in 2019, the data showed.

The number of police personnel sanctioned for the protection duties in Delhi was 7,144 in 2018 and 7,294 in 2019 while the deployment numbers stood at 7,144 and 8,182, respectively, it showed.

Maharashtra had 356 police protectees and a sanctioned strength of 3,946 personnel in both the years. It had a cent per cent deployment for the job in both the years, according to the BPR&D, a wing of the Union Home Ministry.

Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, had 125 and 144 protectees in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The sanctioned strength of personnel was not available for 2018, and it was 2,108 in 2019. The deployment figures stood at 2,233 both the years, it showed.

The number of police protectees in Andhra Pradesh stood at 508 in 2018 and 452 in 2019, Kerala (76 and 57), Tamil Nadu (115 and 110), Karanataka (647 and 721), Telangana (487 and 799), Madhya Pradesh (293 and 434), Haryana (1,493 and 1,355), Chhattisgarh (340 and 315), Goa (35 and 32).

Among the lowest, Daman and Diu had one and two police protectees in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Dadra and Nagar Haveli had five in 2018 and one in 2019, while Lakshadweep had five in 2019 (its figures for 2018 not available), the data showed.