Other than catching criminals, police officers in the Indian city of Bikaner, have been assigned a new task: to identify personnel whose weight and waist size is more than the average and submit these details by 1 November, reported Indian daily the Indian Express.
“Identify all police officers under you, who have more than average weight and or waist sizes at your office, branch level, and send information about their weight and waist sizes,” the senior superintendent of Police directed.
The drive aims to ensure high levels of physical fitness among police officers and change public perceptions that Indian police officers are unfit potbellied men.
In the past, similar drives were introduced by various State governments in India to motivate police forces to keep their weight under check. Some of these measures stipulated that obese police officers lose weight or lose salary increments.
Asked if police officials fitness levels have stooped so low that the State governments have to interfere, Delhi police officer Deepak Bhargav replied:
“If police officials have enough time to concentrate on their health, fitness would not be an issue.”
Stating that the job is so hectic that they aren’t even able to manage meals at regular intervals and have to depend on outside food most of the time, he said: “Increasing the number of shifts in a day, and also the workforce, will spare us time to concentrate on our health.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Fit India Movement this August while calling on people to make mental and physical fitness a part of their lifestyles.