Hoshiarpur (Punjab), March 7 (IANS) The International Women's Day eve was a special day for 158 women security guard recruits as they not only passed out after completing their training here but also had job offers from leading multi-nationals and other companies.

Led by recruit Meena Rani at their passing-out parade at the police Recruit Training Centre (RTC) at Jahan Khelan, 15 km from here, the women guards became the first batch to be trained for private sector security jobs by the Punjab police.

MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is the wife of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, took the salute from the first batch of women security guards.

'It is a big thing that girls, after successfully proving their competence in BSF (Border Security Force), have now accepted another challenge of excelling in private security jobs,' Harsimrat Kaur Badal said.

'The culmination of training of first batch on March 8, coinciding with the International Women's Day, speaks about the historic relevance of this occasion,' she added.

The women were part of a batch of 562 recruits trained for security jobs in the private sector.

Hoshiarpur is some 150 km from Chandigarh.

The Punjab government has approved Rs.10 crore for setting up a new hostel for women recruits at the RTC here.

Punjab Police Security Corporation managing director M.K. Tiwari said that all the 158 recruits passing out Sunday have got job offers from MNCs and other companies.