Aimed at bringing more transparency in its functioning, the Punjab Police has issued a new transfer policy which, among other things, caps the maximum tenure of SHOs and Munshis to three years. The decision was taken recently on the directives of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, to break the alleged nexus that exists among lower rank officials and bring transparency in their functioning, a police spokesperson said.
Under the new policy, the tenure of an Station House Officer (SHO) and a Munshi at a police station has been capped to a maximum of three years, and that of constables and Head constables to five years, the spokesperson said.Besides, it was decided that no SHO in-charge of a police station shall be posted in his home sub-division, he said. The spokesperson said the chief minister had taken serious note of complaints of nexus between criminals and some lower rung of police officers, and had ordered DGP Suresh Arora to come out with the new policy to curtail long tenures in plum field postings.
The new transfer policy also provides that no upper or lower subordinate shall remain posted in the same district after registration of a criminal case against him/her in the district. In such cases, the IG/DIG shall immediately post the official concerned to another district in the range.Under the new policy, the minimum tenure of a SHO in-charge of a police station shall be one year, which can be extended up to three years by the SSP concerned or the commissioner of police by mentioning specific reasons.
It further provides that police officers not below the rank of regular Sub-Inspectors shall be posted as SHOs where posts of Sub-Inspectors are sanctioned for SHOs, and police officers not below the rank of regular Inspectors shall be posted as SHOs where posts of Inspectors are sanctioned for SHOs.As per the new policy, the tenure of an MHC/AMHC (Munshi/Additional Munshi) of a police station shall be three years, after which they shall be transferred to another post.
The total period spent shall be counted, excluding breaks (if any).The necessary changes in compliance with the new policy are required to be completed by July 25 this year, he said.
In exceptional cases, the DGP will have the powers to grant exemption from the policy, on written requests from concerned CPs/SSPs, he added.