Assam: BMI Test Of Police Personnel Kicks Off, Unfit To Undergo Physical Training For 3 Months

Police personnel found unfit will be sent to the Police Training Centre in Golaghat district for a period of three months to undergo physical training.

Guwahati: The fitness and Body Mass Index (BMI) test of Assam police personnel kicked off on Wednesday, with Director General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh being the first to undergo the test in Guwahati. The Assam police chief had a BMI of 25.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Singh stated, "Assam Police raising the bar (and the measuring tape)! Time to ensure fitness goals and serve justice with a side of healthiness!"

Speaking to media persons, Singh said, "All unfit police personnel will be sent to the Police Training Centre in Golaghat district's Dergaon for a period of three months to undergo physical training. They will be constantly monitored by doctors, nutritionists and trainers." 

APS officer Ponjit Dowerah, who is currently serving as the commandant of the 5th Assam police commando battalion, said it was a positive move as several police personnel in Assam suffer from diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Speaking to ABP Live, Dowerah said, "Most of the police personnel are physically unfit due to their stressful job and hardly get time for daily physical workout. Since the announcement of the BMI test, a majority of police personnel have started doing physical exercises regularly."

Over 65,000 Assam police personnel will undergo the BMI test in 35 centres across the state in the next 15 days. Around 6,000-7,000 police personnel will undergo the test everyday. The Assam Police's aim is to get into shape and be smarter by 2024.

In May, DGP Singh had announced that a fitness survey of all the state police personnel, including Indian Police Service (IPS) and Assam Police Service (APS) officers, would be conducted and those found unfit would be given voluntary retirement from service (VRS).

On April 30 this year, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said around 300 Assam Police personnel, who are "habitual drinkers", would be given VRS.

The Chief Minister said these police personnel drink excessively and it was adversely affecting their service. The Chief Minister said the public also had serious complaints against such police personnel.