Rani Durgawati Woman Battalion to be formed

Bhopal, Aug 2 (UNI) The Madhya Pradesh Government today endorsed the proposal of forming a Rani Durgawati Woman Battalion and decided to create 998 posts for police stations under it.

The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here today.

The posts -- including 141 posts of Sub-Inspector, 282 posts of Head Constables and 565 posts of constables -- would be filled up in three phases.

In the first phase, 330 posts would be filled in 2007-08, 329 posts in 2008-09 and 329 posts in 2009-10, an official release said here.

The creation of these posts would entail an additional financial burden of Rs 9.33 crore on the state exchequer, while the total financial burden including expenditure on equipments and other requirements would be Rs 12.54 crore.

The decision comes in the wake of Mr Chouhan's assurance in this regard during the recently-held Mahila Panchayat.

The Rani Duragwati Woman Battalion would be set up for police stations identified under it. The woman contingent would comprise a sub-inspector, two head constables and four constables. All the posts would be filled up by women, the release added.

UNI