Guwahati, Sep 28 (IANS): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said his government has decided to make the state police a zero-vacancy force in the country, adding that an additional 5,000 youngsters will be recruited very soon.

Sarma made the remark while attending an induction program for 1,861 police personnel who had completed their training recently.

They will have positions in different places in the state.

“The advertisement to recruit 5,000 youths to the state police department will be out on October 7. We have decided to make the state police a zero-vacancy force. Shortly, there will not be any vacant posts in the Assam Police,” he told reporters.

The Assam Police have implemented several new measures to bring about some changes among the cadre.

The state government earlier decided to send the obese police personnel to the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) after a certain period if they fail to shed the extra kilos.

In August, the first ever measurement of the body mass index (BMI) of all police officials was conducted.

The exercise was conducted in every district of the state, and Assam DGP G.P. Singh launched the drill.

He was the first police official to measure his BMI. The top cop announced that the Assam police personnel who are overweight have time up to November this year to shed the extra kilos; otherwise, they have to accept the VRS.

Sarma also said that people with obesity cannot continue working in the state police department.

Such police personnel will be offered VRS following the government procedure.