Gorakhpur: Hundreds of female police recruits at a PAC training centre in Gorakhpur staged a dramatic protest on Wednesday morning, alleging serious irregularities in facilities, including overcrowding, lack of basic amenities, and even claims of hidden cameras in bathrooms.
In the morning, nearly 600 female trainees stormed out of the training campus, weeping and shouting in protest against the centre’s administration.
One of the recruits alleged that cameras had been installed in the bathrooms, raising concerns about privacy violations. “Our videos have been recorded. Will they be returned? What happens to us now?” she said, adding that some officials had visited earlier but only scolded them instead of addressing their concerns.
The women also complained of severe overcrowding. While the facility is meant to accommodate 360 trainees, it currently houses 600. The unrest alarmed senior police officers, particularly since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is scheduled to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for projects worth Rs 252 crore at the same PAC tower on Thursday. The CM had already arrived in Gorakhpur earlier in the day.
In response to the chaos, senior officers including the ADG and trainers rushed to the training centre. It took nearly five to six hours of persuasion and assurance from officials to calm the agitated recruits. The women demanded the removal of cameras installed in the bathroom gallery, following which the situation was brought under control.
The protest echoed all the way to Lucknow, prompting swift administrative action. A physical training instructor (PTI) at the centre was suspended for using abusive language against the recruits. Meanwhile, DGP Rajeev Krishna convened an emergency meeting with senior officers overseeing all police training centres, PAC battalions, and police colleges.
Adding political fuel to the fire, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the BJP, saying, “If this is the condition in the CM’s own city, what can be expected elsewhere? ‘Nari Vandana’ is just another hollow slogan of the BJP.”