Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday targeted the Maharashtra government over the "security" of women and “contractual hiring” in the state.

Addressing a press conference, Pawar claimed that there were 19,553 women reported “missing” from the state between January 1 and May 31 this year.

He also slammed the government over the “contractual hiring” of personnel in Mumbai police. He said the state has taken the decision to conduct government recruitments on contract.

Earlier this week, the Maharashtra government issued an order to hire 3,000 personnel from its own security corporation who will work under the Mumbai police.

These personnel drawn from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC), a government undertaking, will work under contract and assist the Mumbai police in select duties for a specific period of time.

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