Female trainee constables protest at U.P.'s Gorakhpur centre over basic amenities, abusive language, cameras

The Hindu

3 days ago

Fresh batch of women constable recruits at Gorakhpur's 26 Battalion Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) campus of U.P. Police on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) protested and raised slogans alleging lack of basic facilities like drinking water, electricity, abusive language of trainers and even claimed that they were being forced to bathe in the open and cameras in bathroom corridors.
In the viral videos, which were shared widely the new recruits could be heard saying, 'If they (authorities) could not make arrangements, why were we called here, there was shortage of everything from electricity to drinking water, our privacy was compromised, there were of lack of private bathing areas,".
Another recruit added, "one Reverse Osmosis (RO) set was given for around 600 students, for 30 girls four fans were functional, even the fans were not in proper working condition,". Some protesting recruits question the high number of appointed women called at once for training while a few claimed presences of CCTV cameras in bathroom corridors, terming it as a breach of privacy.
While administrative officers dispersed the protestors who were blocking the road and directed them back inside the centre, the recruits protested outside the administrative building, demanding addressing of their basic demands.
Amid the protest senior officials including senior PAC officer Akhil Kumar and district police officials rushed to the spot and initiated an inquiry. "Officials took serious note of the issues raised by the women recruits of 26 Battalion PAC, Gorakhpur and a detailed inquiry was initiated. It was found that due to a 'technical fault' electricity shortage happened which led to a temporary water scarcity, the issue has been promptly resolved. Following the preliminary enquiry, Physical Training Instructor (PTI), who used abusive language with women recruits was suspended. The claim of camera in bathroom is completely wrong, the U.P. police give highest priority to women security and respect," reads an official statement issued by Additional Director General (ADG) PAC, Uttar Pradesh.
Opposition parties hit out at the State government over the mismanagement accusation adding for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women worship is only a slogan. "Unfortunate news is coming from Gorakhpur about the mismanagement of the training centre for women police recruits. There is no electricity, no water, no dignified bathroom. When this is the condition of the main city then what can one say about the rest. Women worship is a slogan of the BJP," wrote the Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, on X.
The 26th Battalion PAC centre, which serves as a police training school, recently seen induction of 598 women constable recruits from various districts of Uttar Pradesh as part of the 2023 batch.