CAPF officers seek Shah's intervention to end alleged IPS obstruction

A number of CAPF officers have written to Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention to end alleged discrimination at the hands of IPS officers in getting their service benefits.

The officers of the five Central Armed Police Forces, also called paramilitary forces, have also launched a social media campaign, saying that despite a recent Supreme Court order and subsequent approval by the Union Cabinet, their headquarters are creating impediments in the process of granting them organised service benefits and sanction of more posts in supervisory ranks by reducing those manned by the IPS.

PTI has accessed a number of such official communications made to Shah where they seek his intervention to take "desirable action" so that their recruitment rules (RRs) are amended and a fresh cadre review is done in line with what is valid for a organised central service.

The framing of new RRs will allow these officers to have more positions in supervisory ranks, at present manned majorly by Indian Police Service (IPS) officers.

"A number of officers, who are unhappy by the obstructive manner of their supervisory IPS officers, have written to the home minister asking him to ensure that their financial and social upgrade is taken care of as this is directly linked to their morale.

"The officers have requested the minister to ensure the due service benefits to them announced recently, as boldly as a decision where he announced the abrogation of the Article 370, that gave special benefits to Jammu and Kashmir," a senior CRPF cadre officer said.

He said the officers are making direct representations to Shah as despite a Union Cabinet approval, the headquarters of these forces are either going slow or are reluctant to finish proceedings that will give them full benefits, as this affects career prospects of IPS officers who join these forces on deputation.

A senior IPS officer, looking after these proceedings for cadre officers in one of the CAPFs, countered their contention, saying the revision of RRs is not being done immediately as some "clarificatory appeals" are pending in the Supreme Court.

"IPS is a central service and has an all-India service character. It needs to be given enough representation in central services as appropriate as their cadre strength."