ATTOCK, Nov 29:  The police constables recruitment has been lying in abeyance for the last five months, although the process in this regard has been initiated twice but suspended, causing great disappointment among over 6,000 candidates.

The irony is that the police department has collected Rs120,000 by selling applications forms to the candidates, it has been learnt.

The Central Police office (CPO), Punjabannounced recruitment schedule for 116 posts of police constables including seven female ones some five months back and set June 18, 2012 as last date for submission of application forms.

For this purpose, a three-member recruitment committee was also constituted under the Chairmanship of Commandant Sihala Police training college, DIG Ghulam Rasool Zahid, while the  then district police officer (DPO) Attock Mohammad Hilal Khan and SSP Range Investigation Board Dr Mohammad Azam were its members.

But on June 25, the district police on the directive of CPO Punjab had postponed the recruitment indefinitely without assigning any reason while the scrutiny of applications was in process.

However, after two months, the candidates took a sigh of relief, when the CPO resumed the recruitment process and issued new schedule on August 9.

Under revised schedule, last date for submission of application forms was August 24.

The sources said the delight on the face of the candidates was short-lived as the CPO again postponed the recruitment process on August 24. Since then the candidates have been in a state of uncertainty, the sources added.

Commenting over the situation, some candidates said the Punjab police authorities were playing jokes on them. “If they have any problem with the recruitment, they shouldn’t have issued the recruitment schedule twice,” one of the candidates on condition of anonymity said.

He said the postponement of the recruitment process had put the candidates in a great deal of trouble. All such situation shows mismanagement and lack of homework on the part of police and government authorities, he observed.

Another candidate called upon the Punjab chief minister to intervene and save the candidates future.

Meanwhile, district police said that some financial issues were main hurdle to the recruitment of constables.

The Inspector General of Police Punjab Haji Habibur Rehman was repeatedly contacted on his mobile to seek his comments but he did not pick up the phone.