Nearly 1/4th of 22 lakh police posts vacant

NEW DELHI: Battling crime, terrorism, communal violence and internal security threats, the country's police force is grappling with as many as 5.5 lakh vacancies in a total strength of around 22 lakh. Worst still, most of these vacancies are in areas plagued by insurgency or communal tension.

Gujarat has 40% vacancies in its police force while UP, which has been reeling under communal clashes in recent months, has the highest number of vacancies at more than 1 lakh vacancies, over 27% posts of its force. Chhattisgarh, racked by Maoist violence, has 30% vacancies in its police force.