NEW DELHI: Southern states have the highest number of people belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in their police forces, with Karnataka topping the list. Over 55 per cent of the state’s police personnel come from these communities, according to the latest data on police organisations released by the government think-tank Bureau of Police Research and Development.
Karnataka had 50,333 OBC personnel out of a total of 91,169 as on January 1, 2013.The state had sanctioned 33 per cent reservation for OBCs in the force, but the presence of such personnel in Karnataka Police is 55.21 per cent.“The Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, the traditional weaker sections, in India have been covered by affirmative action to accelerate the process of their socio-economic upliftment,” said the document.
Tamil Nadu follows Karnataka with 48.86 per cent of its personnel coming from OBCs, followed by Kerala at 33.86 per cent and Andhra Pradesh at 23.63 per cent.At the pan-India level, there are 3,74,303 policemen from OBCs, constituting 16.94 per cent of the total of over 22 lakh personnel.
