New Delhi: The Assam police force in northeastern India has asked its overweight officers to lose weight or retire in an effort to increase public confidence in its workforce.
Indian police officers frequently experience weight problems, and the Assam state police force is not the first to promote diet discipline and physical fitness among its members.
Police in Karnataka were given the option to lose weight in 2018 or risk losing their jobs. They were also given access to sports training and dietary advice.
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A court in Punjab banned obese police officers from conducting raids on drug and bootlegger dealers in 2020 because they could not run quickly enough for front-line duty. Police in India's Andaman and Nicobar territory created weight loss plans for their heaviest officers in 2022.
Assam police set deadlines for officers to meet in order for their fitness mission to be successful.
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G.P. Singh, the director general of police for the state, stated earlier this week that all officers' body mass indices would be "professionally recorded" in August. People who are exempt are those whose weight is related to a medical condition. The 60,000-person police force's obese officers will then have three months to lose weight or voluntarily resign.
According to Singh, the goal is to improve the police's physical condition.
"When the public sees a more fit police force, they have greater confidence."
However, the problem extends beyond public trust because officers must be physically fit in order to carry out their duties.
"A fitter person will not have problems walking and they can be on the streets without any problem," Singh said.
So far, Singh's subordinates have responded favourably to the fitness order.
"There are now more people participating in the morning physical training sessions. Additionally, he noted, people have begun to pay closer attention to what they eat.
The state government has also scrutinised the Assam police force.
Hemanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, ordered the early retirement of about 300 state police officers earlier this month on the grounds that they were "habitual drinkers" and "physically unfit."
Indian police have frequently been accused of being unfit due to their irregular work schedules and lack of breaks, but according to former Assam police chief Ghanashyam Murari Shrivastava, that excuse is unconvincing.
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He praised Singh's fitness policy, saying, "This excuse that police work longer hours does not discount the possibility of being fit. "This is a good move, and every effort should be made to keep the police lean and fit. Military personnel are fit and prepared to carry out their duty properly; the same should be true of police forces."