The Chhattisgarh government on Wednesday again came under the Supreme Court attack for doubling the recruitment of “ill-trained” special police officials for counter-Maoist operations on the face of allegations that they were responsible for recent attacks on some tribal villages.
“There were 3,000 SPOs now you have come up with the figure of 6,500. You have appointed 3,500 more in one year,” a bench of Justices B. Sudhershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar asked Chhattisgarh’s counsel while questioning their “reckless” recruitment.
Senior advocate Ashok Desai, arguing the PIL of academician Nandani Sundar alleged that the state government was giving conflicting figures of SPOs, who were being recruited in “violation” of the law by handing them guns, paying monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000 and providing them “lacklustre” training of two months. Most of the SPOs were only primary school pass and even teenagers had been engaged in the function of maintaining security and law and order without any formal training.