AHMEDABAD: Finally, after the serial blasts which claimed 59 lives in Ahmedabad and suicide terror attacks in Mumbai, the Gujarat government is building an intelligence cadre through direct recruitment and how.

At a paltry sum of Rs 4,500 per month the state government wants to recruit the new batch of intelligence officers (IOs) who should be graduates, knowing English, Hindi, Gujarati and computers!

If you are already doubting the chances of this move’s success, then take this — sweepers employed by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation get around Rs 9,000 per month!

Immediately after the serial blasts on July 26, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi gave a dressing down to state intelligence bureau officials. He also remarked how reports of the Central intelligence agencies were like weather reports.

And then the government said a separate cadre of hand-picked police officials would be posted in the state intelligence agency. Earlier, this agency was the dumping ground for police officers not toeing the official line.

On Wednesday, a public notice was put out for recruitment of intelligence officers, the first time ever. This seems to be a good move on one hand, but how serious the state government is in this matter remains a question.

Their job would be mainly to collect information on political developments, trends and other issues in their assigned areas.

Analysis of these would help pre-empt any suspicious movement. The new recruits will be for posts of sub-inspectors.

The recruits have been given a carrot — after five years of service they may be absorbed in the police force with regular pay structures.

But, senior cops think otherwise: “How can someone work for such a paltry salary? If the government expects a police officer to take up a critical job at such a minimal salary, then it is being impractical.”

Source: timesofindia