Dismayed at the decision by crew members of the IAF helicopter to leave the copter after it crash-landed in the dense Chintalnar forest in south Bastar after being hit by Naxal gunfire on Friday, leaving behind an injured policeman in it, the Chhattisgarh police on Saturday began a probe into the matter, official sources said here.
Police sources said a high-level Chhattisgarh police and CRPF team visited the site where the damaged copter crash-landed and inspected security arrangements in the area to secure the copter till it was repaired and flown back to Jagdalpur, district headquarters of Bastar.
The IAF is also likely to take a series of steps to step up security in the wake of the attack. The IAF may now insist on sanitised areas on the ground for its non-combat role. It may again take up this matter with the home ministry. Modern Russian-make attack copters could be deployed for casualty-evacuation of paramilitary and police jawans and the IAF may be left with no choice but to actually hit back in self-defence, if attacked again by the Naxals.
The team was also likely to study the circumstances in which the crew left behind the wireless operator of the Chhattisgarh police although the jawan was seriously injured when the Naxals fired at the MI-17 helicopter.
The team comprised additional director-general of police (Naxal operations) R.K. Vij, additional director-general (intelligence) Mukesh Gupta, both of the Chhattisgarh police, and CRPF IGP Zulfiqar Hassan.
There were seven people — six crew and wireless operator Hemant Sahu of the Chhattisgarh police — on board the copter, which was going to Temelwara, in Sukma district, from Jagdalpur to evacuate jawans of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force injured in a Maoist ambush in the area.
The copter, however had to abort the landing at Temelwara and force-land in Chintalnar forest.