Perhaps, Jammu and Kashmir State must be holding a unique ‘distinction’ among other States in taking quite lightly attending to matters of sensitivity and susceptibility. In the instant case, the delicate job of screening of the Special Police Officers (SPOs) engaged in the State during the past six years and verifying the antecedents and evaluating their performance should have been on the priority of the State administration but even after Ministry of Home Affairs advising the State Government to take suitable action and even sharing its concerns too, have apparently evoked no perceptible response . The process, started six months back, is still incomplete which could be termed as adopting of an approach of casual nature. Adhering of time frame, fixing and achieving targets , appraising performance, moving of files and papers from table to table quickly and taking timely decisions and accountability are the core areas where this State has been found wanting in to be prompt, responsive and expeditious. The administration is expected to be wide-awake and on the nose especially in matters of sensitive nature like the one under reference.
The culture of political interference or the “Sufarish” syndrome in matters of appointments in Government jobs especially non- gazetted ones, is still prevalent in Jammu and Kashmir and how could engaging SPOs remain aloof as it is not anything heard on grapevine but voices that matter, have been raised from different quarters that brazen political meddling in the selection of these police personnel had taken place. It is to be believed that even those who cannot be certified to be fit for the task too have reportedly been appointed on the instructions of the influential politicians, especially during PDP- BJP Coalition Government. Should the beans not be spilled and spilled quickly to ascertain the factual position?
It may be recalled that the idea behind engaging this task force was to assist Jammu and Kashmir Police in fighting militancy, strengthening intelligence grid and security related operational duties . Needless to add, the entire financial support to run this force is provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Even this measure to assist State law enforcing agency in dealing with the prevailing situation effectively has reportedly been not spared of the mix of favouritism, ambiguities and nebulosity in matters of recruitment which requires a relook at the matter.
It was, therefore, decided to carry out a pruning and review exercise of the existing Special Police Officers including nature of their duties , utility and efficacy. Instructions followed from the Union Ministry to State Home Department for carrying out the task of screening so as to identify unsuitable and undeserving SPOs who deserved to be disengaged in order to achieve the objective behind the scheme. District level Committees were constituted in July 2018 for the purpose comprising the concerned Deputy Commissioner, Superintendent of Police and Deputy Superintendent of Police. The Committees were asked to submit the findings /report within a month to the Home Department with an intimation to the DGP , later to take the requisite steps to weed out the unsuitable and ‘undeserving’ SPOs who in turn had to submit action taken report within a period of two weeks.
If the criteria in selection process would have been transparency and merit only, the committees would have promptly submitted the findings/report well within the stipulated time of one month which leaves room for speculations and therefore, the State Home Department as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Police must clarify. It is, however, beyond comprehension as to what have these Committees been doing all these six months and why motives could not be attributed for such a type of deferring, postponing and perhaps avoiding the exercise of assessing and screening to obfuscate taking of a suitable action in the matter.
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