Jamshedpur : The East Singhbhum district police will select 800 homeguards during a one-week-long selection drive which will start from January 30. As per the plans, the total strength of the home-guard will increase from 1,400 to 2,200.
East Singhbhum district homeguard commandant K N Mishra said that a notification for the selection drive has been issued.
” We want to appoint more guards to strengthen their numbers. The aspiring candidate for homeguards should be between age-group of 25 and 35 years.
Those who willing to render their service in the urban area must be matriculate, but those willing to work in the rural area should be at least VIIth class passed.
The candidates must undergo a written test and also physical fitness test for getting selected as home-guards,” said the commandant.
Mishra, said the concept of engaging home-guard jawans in district police is meant to support the police during a period of emergency like assembly and Parliamentary elections, maintaining law and order during major festivals.
Here, the homeguards proved to be a major help to the police department as several of them are engaged on various post like police drivers and body-guards of VIPs besides as security guards at the government-run institutions.
Mishra said though there are 1,400 home-guards in reserve, but about 600 of them are not reporting for duty either due to bad health or some other reasons.
A homeguard jawan is not enrolled in the district police. After getting selected as homeguards, they are provided duty on casual basis — for two months at a stretch. During the period of the duty, a homeguard is paid Rs 400 as remuneration for a day.
Home Guard is an Indian paramilitary police force. It is a voluntary force, tasked as an auxiliary to the Indian Police. The Home Guards Organisation was reorganised in India in 1962 after the Sino-Indian War with the People’s Republic of China, though it existed in smaller units individually in some places.
Home Guards are recruited from various cross sections of the civil society such as professionals, college students, agricultural and industrial workers etc. who give their spare time for betterment of the community. All citizens of India, in the age group of 18-50, are eligible. Normal tenure of membership in Home Guards is 3 to 5 years.