Mumbai, March 14 (IANS): Maharashtra has a staggering 12,115 police posts ranging from constables to additional director-general of police lying vacant, an RTI query revealed here on Saturday.

Of these, the highest number - 2,708 vacancies - are of police sub-inspector (PSI) rank, a critical backbone of the entire police department supporting investigations and maintaining law and order, said activist Anil Galgali.

The state has 219,986 police posts, of which 12,115 are vacant for various reasons.

Against the requirement of 9,659 posts of PSI, 6,951 are filled up, with a shortfall of 2,708.

Of 25 posts of additional director-general of police, three are vacant. Of the 47 posts of special inspector general of police (IGP), eight are vacant.

Similarly, seven out of 38 posts of deputy IGP, including two vacancies for two sanctioned posts of deputy IGP (technical), are not filled up.

At the superintendent of police (SP) and deputy commissioner of police level, out of the 265 sanctioned posts 30 are vacant, while there are 209 vacancies for the post deputy SP or ACP (unarmed) out of the 686 posts, he added.

In the armed category of deputy SP or ACP, there are 50 vacancies out of 87 posts, for assistant police inspector posts - 471 unfilled out of 4,447, for assistant sub-inspector there are 1,030 vacant out of 18,804, while for the post of police constables 2,323 out of 42,964 are vacant and constables 4,101 out of 96,240 are vacant.

The categories of police sub-inspector of motor transport of marine IInd Class and First Class Master Engine Driver are run with only 11 out of the total 270 posts, PSI Motor Transport 54 vacant out of 109 posts and at many times the current employees work under inhuman conditional due to severe pressures, Galgali said.

Following the replies from Public Information Officer P.K. Ghuge of the Maharashtra DGP office, Galgali brought it to the notice of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is holding the home portfolio.

He urged Fadnavis to take measures to immediately fill up the large number of vacancies at various levels to relieve the unwarranted stress and pressures on the police force.

"In fact, such constant pressures and difficult working conditions have resulted in various health conditions for the police force, resulting in suicides, heart attacks and other issues in recent years," Galgali said.