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ITANAGAR: BJP Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao has asked the Centre to relax the minimum height requirement for the Indian Police Service (IPS) for candidates from Arunachal Pradesh. He said candidates from Arunachal Pradesh be given the height relaxation as given to people belonging to communities eligible for height relaxation.
In a letter to Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Jitendra Singh on Tuesday, Gao, the MP from Arunachal Pradesh East constituency sought the relaxation after an Arunachal Pradesh doctor whose hope of becoming an IPS officer fell short by 2.5 cm.
Ojing Dameng of the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh was placed second in the provisional list of IPS officers in the Scheduled Tribes category in the Union Civil Services Examination. But a medical examination found him unfit for the IPS because he is 162.5 cm tall, which is 2.5 cm less than the required minimum height of 165 cm for male candidates for the IPS.
Gao claimed the minimum height of 165 cm would deprive aspirants of Arunachal Pradesh from becoming IPS officers.
Referring to the minimum height of 165 cm for men and 150 cm for women candidates mentioned in Regulation 7(c) Appendix III of AIS, Act 1951, Gao said that as per the regulation, relaxed minimum height standard in case of candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes and the races such as Gorkhas, Assamese, Kumaonis, Nagaland are applicable to IPS ... with the height of men 160 cm and women 145 cm.
"... It is also to bring into your notice that present-day Arunachal Pradesh (which came into existence only in 1972 as a Union Territory) was a composite state under the state of Assam and any citizen of Assam would be an Assamese.
"And hence, then Assamese in the provision would include tribal of Arunachal Pradesh as well. Also going by the intent of the legislation one can make out that the law is extending relaxation to such races whose average height is distinctly lower wherein Arunachal tribals' rightfully fit, for that matter the North East tribals," Gao wrote in his letter.
He added that in Arunachal Pradesh state police officers are recruited at a minimum height of 160 cms (for men). These officers are later promoted to the IPS.
"In view of the above and considering the fact that thousands of civil service aspirants from Arunachal Pradesh are competing every year in the UPSC exam and not to deprive them of their opportunities to serve the country. I request ... to kindly look into the matter as above and issue necessary directions and corrective measures in the interest of people of Arunachal Pradesh ...", the BJP MP added.
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