SOP lapses at Dumka, cops under scanner

The Maoist strike on an election party claiming eight lives in Dumka shattered a brief lull in Jharkhand which otherwise witnessed a relatively peaceful three-phase polling, besides raising serious questions over the deployment of paramilitary forces and the state police’s claim of self-sufficiency.

Primary analysis has revealed there were serious lapses in observing the Standard Operating Procedure for which Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police could be held responsible. However, concerned officials were in a bind over taking action against the two as both DC Harsh Mangalam and SP Nirmal Kumar Mishra are considered close to Chief Minister and local MLA Hemant Soren.

The polling officials and Jharkhand police personnel were part of a team that was returning in a mini bus to the district headquarters after polling in the Shikaripara assembly segment. The vehicle hit a Maoist-planted IED on the Sarsajor-Palasi road and was damaged. Poll officials were advised to take buses in a Maoist-affected area and walk back with EVMs to the district headquarters.

Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar said, “We had ensured peaceful elections by keeping strictly to the SOP. We will have to examine what went wrong here.”

Lambodhar Mahato, the sector magistrate travelling in the Tata Magic, allegedly took it to booths 100 and 101, located at primary school in Jamkandar and upgraded middle school in Asma.

But, who gave orders to him? “At the moment, it would be wrong to point fingers at the DC as there is nothing that suggests that he gave the orders,” said Jharkhand’s Chief Electoral Officer P K Jajoria, adding that two sets of EVMs were damaged in the blasts and that there would be a re-poll.

A police source, however, said, “The DC is new, he does not understand the risks. In order to complete the polls early, he allowed the bus to go in.”

While CRPF personnel posted at booth 100 walked, the police personnel boarded the bus. As a result, no CRPF personnel was killed the attack.

Four personnel from the Dumka district police and one from the Garhwa police were killed, while five policemen were wounded. A State Bank of India staffer, a Dairy Development Board employee and the cleaner of the mini bus also died in the attack. At least three civilians, including the driver, sustained injuries.

The incident picks holes in the state’s police claim that it was ready for a central forces-free existence and that only a slack in recruitment was keeping the CRPF here.

There are also questions being raised about force deployment — whether too many CRPF personnel were posted in the urban areas, while poorly-trained district police personnel had to man some high-risk booths.

“The CRPF was in majority in Maoist areas too. But despite us telling them repeatedly to be careful, our police officers simply do not listen,” said the Dumka SP.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/sop-lapses-at-dumka-cops-under-scanner/2/

PARAMILITARY CHIEFS SEEK TO BREAK MHA BONDS

With “weak” leadership at the helm of affairs, the Director Generals of paramilitary forces, all from the Indian Police Service, have sought to unshackle themselves from the Union Home Ministry.

In a sign of a brewing revolt, the DGs complained that the mechanism of reviewing the functioning of paramilitary forces by the Home Secretary was “not working properly” and decided to seek a meeting with him to discuss new and pending issues. Technically, the Ministry Of Home Affairs (MHA) is not only the administrative Ministry of the paramilitary forces but also the cadre- controlling authority for IPS officers.

According to the minutes of a recently-held meeting of the DGs of the forces at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Directorate here, the paramilitary bosses have objected to the standard operating procedure (SOP) of MHA that stipulates attachment of personnel by the Ministry. Arguing for a review of the SOP, the DGs agreed that they “should not be routinely asked by the MHA to submit the number of personnel attached etc, as the DGs and the Supreme Commander of the Force are well aware of the requirement of the Force.” According to Constitutional provisions, the President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Union.

“The responsibility of equipping the force within the sanctioned budget should be that of the DG and “no unnecessary approvals, like in case of modernisation plan, may be taken from the MHA. The DG should have total powers to utilise the allocated budget without extraneous requirement of approvals and sanctions,” says one of the agenda points discussed at the meeting and agreed by top paramilitary brass.

The meeting was chaired by ITBP DG Subhash Goswami and attended by the chief of Sashastra Seema Bal Arun Chaudhary and Arvind Ranjan who once headed the elite National Security Guards and is the chief of the Central Industrial Security Force now.  

The DGs also contended that the modernisation plan of the paramilitary forces was “not taking off the way it should, for want of finalisation of qualitative requirements by the MHA and lack of understanding of the requirements of the Force.” The chiefs have sought appointment of an IPS officer (as against the present IAS official) as Joint Secretary (Police Modernisation) in the Union Home Ministry.

The paramilitary bosses have also resolved to raise the issue of postings and transfers of specialist doctors with post-graduate qualifications at the Composite Hospitals by the Union Home Ministry. The DG of ITBP has already sent a DO letter to the Union Home Secretary seeking review of the Ministry’s order (dated December 7, 2011) claiming posting and transfer of specialist doctors by the MHA “would lead to depriving personnel in far flung areas of specialist treatment, dilution of command and unnecessary strengthening of Composite Hospitals at locations where superior medical assistance is already available.” The Ministry subsequently turned down the request.

The forces are now collecting information relating to mobility/organisation, personnel, provisioning/police modernisation/medical, Welfare and Rehabilitation Board (WARB), welfare and morale of the troops for collation before taking these issues up with the Union Home Secretary. The IPS officials at the top, however, did not deliberate on pressing concerns of the paramilitary forces, including significant attrition of the officers and men on account of premature retirement due to spiraling number of cases relating to voluntary retirement and resignations, a senior paramilitary official said.

The cadre officials are also enraged over the proposal for creation of the post of Joint Secretary (Police Modernisation) to be headed by an IPS officer and not an Inspector-General rank officer. Serving cadre officers of three paramilitary forces have already petitioned the Delhi High Court seeking grant of “organized service” status and non-functional financial upgradation, lack of which is considered to be the key reasons for wastage of trained personnel.

A senior paramilitary official who did not wish to be identified said it is high time the aggrandizing aspirations of IPS officials were suitably curtailed and appointment of cadre officials as DGs should be made at least on a rotational basis. At present, only IPS officials on deputation are entitled to become DG.

Paramilitary insiders said the Ministry is sitting over files of crucial proposals for over two years including the arming policy of the Forces. The Ministry, sources said, returns files of the paramilitary forces on “flimsy” grounds and approvals are not granted to proposals for years together.

Source:http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/paramilitary-chiefs-seek-to-break-mha-bonds.html