An alleged distrust between the Central Reserve Police Force
and the Chhattisgarh Police may be coming in the way of anti-Maoist operations
in the State.
A CRPF officer posted in Sukma district says the force faces
problems at various levels from sharing of intelligence to execution of
operations.
“There have been rare instances when movements of the CRPF
were leaked from the police station,” the officer says on condition of
anonymity.
“How can the Maoists be ready with ambush if they don’t know
our movements in advance?” wonders a commander of the Commando Battalion for
Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the CRPF.
Another senior officer says a large posse of the State
police should accompany the CRPF for patrolling or operations. “But hardly we
get the assistance of a man or two,” he says.
‘Superiority complex’
A senior police officer, however, says: “The CRPF personnel
have a superiority complex since they are a central force, but the fact is that
they are here to assist us.”
A senior CRPF officer’s riposte is that his men have a
superiority complex “because they are better trained and well equipped.”
Recounting alleged instances of the CRPF’s “rude behaviour”,
a former top police officer says: “When the SP of Rajnandgaon was killed in a
Maoist attack, the CRPF waited for six hours for orders from their officers. In
Tadmetla, when 75 CRPF jawans were killed, the CRPF based in Chintalnar refused
entry to the SPOs [Special Police Officers] sent for their protection.”
“We never depend on the CRPF to carry out some special
operations,” says a group leader of the SPO, now named the State Auxiliary
Force. The CRPF suffers heavy casualties as it panics when trapped, he adds.
The distrust is not limited to the ground level.
When 11 CRPF men were killed in an ambush at Tahakwada in
March, Inspector-General, CRPF, H.S. Siddhu publicly criticised the State
police’s top brass for denying permission for an operation in the same area
earlier.
Mr. Siddhu and Director-General of Police A.N. Upadhay,
however, deny any problems between the two forces.
“We have good relations with the State police and if a
problem arises, we discuss and solve it with the DGP,” says Mr. Siddhu.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/crpfpolice-distrust-hobbles-antimaoist-operations-in-chhattisgarh/article6095568.ece
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