Thiruvananthapuram: The recruitment process for a new batch of 500 commandos in the Kerala Police will begin in all districts on Tuesday. Around one lakh applications have been received for the 500 posts, said the authorities.
Those selected will replace the 500 commandos who are in service now as their 10-year term has ended. A commando force was set up in Kerala for the first time in 2010. The term of the personnel has been fixed at 10 years and after this period commandos are given postings in various wings of the Kerala Police.
Selection process
In 2010, commandos were recruited based on a written exam and a physical test, each of which carried 50 marks. However, during the second recruitment process currently underway, the written exam is for 25 marks only and the remaining 75 marks are for various physical endurance tests.
The eligibility for becoming a commando is a pass in Class 10 and an age of 18-22 years. There is no age relaxation for backward classes.
While the written exam is the first challenge for applicants to other wings in Kerala Police, a running test is initially conducted for commandos. Only those candidates who clear a distance of five km in 25 minutes would be allowed to attempt the written exam. Subsequently, candidates have to go through another eight sets of physical endurance tests to earn selection as a commando.
The preliminary running test will be conducted in all districts from Tuesday to August 1, with 200 candidates participating each day.
The written exam will take place later in August, followed by the endurance tests. According to authorities, the selection process is expected to be completed in August itself. All the tests are conducted by the Kerala Police under the supervision of the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
Salary scale
Commandos in Kerala are appointed in the pay scale of Rs 31,100-66,800. After selection, the new recruits have to engage in training for 18 months. Training would be given to them based on the modules created for the National Security Guard and the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh which carry out Maoist hunts.
Deployment
Commandos in Kerala are mainly deployed for combating the Maoist threat and are given the designation ‘Thunderbolts.’ Teams are also posted in the major cities of Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram as ‘Urban commandos’, who are utilized in emergency situations such as abduction or blocking of VIPs. Meanwhile, a third team of commandos is tasked with providing security to the Kerala Chief Minister.
