Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang has announced a new recruitment drive for 1,000 posts in police, 50 per cent of which will be reserved for women.

While speaking on the occasion of the 48th State Day of Sikkim in Gangtok on Tuesday, Tamang (Golay) said: “We have decided to induct 1,000 more people into the state police through a recruitment drive. Fifty per cent of these posts will be reserved for women.”

Sikkim, a Himalayan kingdom, had merged with India as its 22nd state on May 16, 1975.

It is the first-of-its-kind announcement made by any state, which hints that Sikkim intends to increase the number of women police personnel. As of now, the state has reserved 30 per cent of posts in the police for women.

There are 11 other states which have reserved 30 to 35 per cent of seats for women in the police. They are Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tripura, Telangana and Uttarakhand.

The Centre, too, has reserved 30 per cent of seats in police for women in all seven Union territories. It also wants all states to reserve at least one-third of seats for women.

According to sources, there are around 4,600 male and 550 female police personnel in Sikkim, serving in different ranks.

Altogether, the number of women police personnel is around 10.67 per cent.