Chandigarh, June 1 (IANS) While being in a denial mode over the prevalence of drug addition in the state, the Punjab government on Wednesday said that it will conduct drugs test on candidates applying for jobs in the Punjab Police.
"To strengthen the Punjab Police, the state government will recruit 7,416 male and female constables in a fair and transparent manner, besides conducting a drug test on the selected candidates to be deployed in the force," said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds the Home portfolio.
The recruitment process for district police and armed police cadre has already been initiated.
"The physical test and written tests would be conducted and all candidates would have to undergo drug test before the tests so as to ascertain the facts of use of contrabands by the youth," said Badal.
Justifying the drugs test for police recruitment, he said: "Though it had already been established during army recruitments conducted in the past in the state that no drug addict was found during the selections, but to re-assert the reality it had been decided to take samples for testing the use of drugs."
Badal said that no candidate from Punjab was found positive during the recent selection trials of Chandigarh Police where more than dozen Punjabi youth were inducted in the force.
Surveys in recent years have indicated that incidence of drugs abuse was high in Punjab, especially among youth and in rural areas.
