The Central Reserve Police Force has constituted a court of inquiry to decide the punishment against the officials, including the deputy inspector-general Nalin Prabhat, who were found responsible for the lapses at the command level in the anti-Naxal operations in Dantewada, in which 76 personnel were killed by the Left-wing ultras on April 6.
The inquiry report on the punishment to the three officials and one retired IG (Dantewada range) of the force will be submitted by June end. Sources in the Union home ministry said that the court of inquiry was being headed by an officer of the additional director-general level.
Recently, admitting lapses at the command level in the anti-Naxal operations in Dantewada, the CRPF had shunted out three senior officials of the force including DIG Prabhat.
Two more officials, who were transferred included, Vimal Kumar Bight, commandant of the 62nd Battalion, and inspector Sandier Bangle.
Talking to this newspaper, a senior official of the Union home ministry said, “The ministry wants to know about individual lapses. What went wrong and who should be held responsible for the incident? The ministry also wants to know the facts about the violations of the Standard Operating Procedure, if any, at the individual level.”
“Everything will be analysed. The Court of Inquiry will also talk to the personnel who were engaged in the Dantewada operation. If required, previous call details of the security personnel who died in the incident would also be analysed by the court of inquiry.”
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C’garh will train elected local bodies
RABINDRA NATH CHOUDHURY
RAIPUR
May 26: In a significant development, the Chhattisgarh government on Wednesday decided to train the elected representatives of local rural local bodies in Maoist-infested regions “in the use of arms” to counter Maoists.
The decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting held here under the chairmanship of chief minister Raman Singh.
“The Cabinet has taken some important decisions to tackle the Maoist menace. It has been decided that common people will be involved in the ongoing battle against the Naxals,” a senior official of the state government told this newspaper.