CRPF officer cautions Army chief over irresponsible statements regarding Dantewada massacre
CRPF officer cautions Army chief over irresponsible statements regarding Dantewada massacre
If working long night shifts bother you then spare a thought for those who are deployed in jungles fighting an
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| Pride and honour: Au00a0 copy of the letter by the CRPF officer to the Army chief (right). |
enemy they don't know and don't see, unless of course when under fire.
But such a tedious job doesn't come with just rewards. Ask the Central Reserve Police Force, which is under immense duress fighting the Maoists across the country as well as helping maintain law and order in strife-torn areas.
The Dantewada massacre, in which more than 70 jawans of the para-military force were martyred, came as a rude shock to both the establishment as well as those in the uniform. In the wake of the bloody attack, several questions were raised about the preparedness of our jawans in fighting the Maoist rebels.
But what hurt the CRPF the most was the statement by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen VK Singh, as shown by various news channels. A letter by a CRPF Assistant Commandant (a copy of which is with MiD DAY) has raised a serious question mark over the "irresponsible" statement by Gen Singh in which he mentioned how deficient training cost the para-military force such a large number of casualties.
The letter addressed to the Army chief dated April 10, 2004 was written by Assistant Commandant GP Singh, PPMG. "Your statement seems like a judgement without trial even though the Ministry of Home Affairs is yet to come up with its inquiry report into the Dantewada massacre," the letter, written in Hindi, said.
"The fact that you attributed the large number of casualties to deficiency in training is appalling. Sir, every organisation has its merits and demerits but such incidents should only be seen as exceptions rather than routine," it said.
The Assistant Commandant also sought to remind the Army Chief of the casualties incurred by the Indian Army in various operations like the Blue Star, in Jammu and Kashmir and as the peace keeping force in
Sri Lanka. "Should these (casualties) be credited to insufficient training?" he asked.
Assistant Commandant Singh has also mailed the letter to senior CRPF officers. He is posted at Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh.
"Such statements only go to affect the morale of the world's largest and most decorated para-military force," the letter concluded.
| The Other Side |
| CRPF spokesman Ajay Kumar Chaturvedi completely dissociated the force with the letter. "We have no idea about the letter and we don't know who has written it and how he delivered it to the Army Chief," he said.
On the other hand, Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials refused comment. "Army chief never intended to hurt any one's sentiment and he never even said anything about deficiency in the training of the CRPF. He had only clarified that the training of 62nd battalion of the CRPF never happened under the Indian Army," said an MoD official.u00a0u00a0 |
