New Delhi, April 7 (Inditop.com) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are tired, stressed out and not getting adequate training, its former head A.S. Gill said Wednesday, a day after Maoists massacred 75 troopers in Chhattisgarh.
“The men are not getting proper rest. They are pulled from one area of operation and deployed in another. They do not have peace postings like the army where there is a rest of two years after being in the field for a certain period,” Gill said in an interview, adding this led to tiredness.
“The men are stressed out,” Gill told Inditop.
In the worst ever attack by Maoists in the 43 years since their rebellion began, 75 CRPF personnel and a Chhattisgarh head constable were ambushed and killed by guerrillas in Dantewada Tuesday. The rebels used bombs, automatic weapons and pressure mines that were strategically placed behind trees and rocks where the cornered CRPF men took refuge.
The slaughter put into focus the fighting fitness and readiness of the force, which is called upon to tackle a variety of tasks — from battling militancy to maintaining law and order problems in parts of the country.
Giving a break up of deployment of the paramilitary force, Gill said there were 180 battalions for general duties. Each battalion, of about 1,000 men each, consists of six companies.
“Ideally one company each from all 180 battalions should be undergoing training for six months at any given point of time. The training includes weapon firing and physical fitness. But only 90-100 companies are being trained. The training companies are pulled out for operational duties,” said Gill, who retired two months ago.
According to him, 30 battalions should ideally be resting.
“But the CRPF is tackling anti-national elements in Jammu and Kashmir, northeast states, Maoist infested states and other law and order related duties. Hardly any battalion is resting.
“The government has sanctioned more battalions for the same purpose, but (they) will take seven to eight years (to come up).”
Asked if CRPF personnel were not trained in combating Maoists, Gill said: “Before deployment, every battalion is given special jungle warfare training. They are imparted the best possible training. But it is very possible that in some of the areas, they might not following what has been taught to them.
“Maoists are learning from us, so we have to learn from their tactics. We have to really evolve new tactics in fighting them,” he added.
The CRPF has nearly 40 battalions fighting Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa. They are assisted by other central paramilitary forces like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Border Security Force (BSF).
In Gill’s view, the present strength of the troops fighting Maoists is inadequate.
“The number is far below what we need today. But the biggest question is from where the troops will come in such a short period. After the attack, we are left with no choice to go after them. We have be really very aggressive.”
He also stressed the need for increased air support.
“Choppers can be of great help. They can fly ahead to provide guidance to troopers on ground. At present four choppers are being used, we really need more.”
