Order on SPOs: Centre to open talks with Chief Ministers/SC order a double blow for Chhattisgarh govt and Police.
It is a major setback," said one SP. "The Maoists will gain in a big way. The police camps will become more vulnerable."
RAIPUR: As state officials here work out the implications of the Supreme Court order, there is a consensus that it has come as a double blow to Chhattisgarh Police. It has taken away 4,000 fighters from its counterinsurgency ranks, and saddled it with the additional responsibility of protecting them.
The order says that the only duties that SPOs can be used for are "limited to those enumerated in Section 23 (h) and Section 23 (i) of Chhattisgarh Police Act 2007".
Under Section 23 (h), the duty of an officer is "to help people in situations arising out of natural or man-made disasters, and to assist other agencies in relief measures", and under Section 23 (i), "to facilitate orderly movement of people and vehicles, and to control and regulate traffic".
"How will we explain to these illiterate young men that they have to turn in their weapons overnight, and walk out unarmed? After all, they are marked men. They will be gunned down," a senior police officer says.
Anticipating the threat to the lives of the adivasi men, the Supreme Court has asked the government to "provide appropriate security" to the SPOs, also known locally as Koya Commandos, derived from Koya, the name of a tribe. "The SPOs will stay in the camps, we will protect them," the police officer said. "We have 10,000 men of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force in Bastar, apart from the district police. The counterinsurgency operations would continue." But officers on the ground were not so optimistic. "It is a major setback," said one SP. "The Maoists will gain in a big way. The police camps will become more vulnerable."
The order says that the only duties that SPOs can be used for are "limited to those enumerated in Section 23 (h) and Section 23 (i) of Chhattisgarh Police Act 2007".
Under Section 23 (h), the duty of an officer is "to help people in situations arising out of natural or man-made disasters, and to assist other agencies in relief measures", and under Section 23 (i), "to facilitate orderly movement of people and vehicles, and to control and regulate traffic".
"How will we explain to these illiterate young men that they have to turn in their weapons overnight, and walk out unarmed? After all, they are marked men. They will be gunned down," a senior police officer says.
Anticipating the threat to the lives of the adivasi men, the Supreme Court has asked the government to "provide appropriate security" to the SPOs, also known locally as Koya Commandos, derived from Koya, the name of a tribe. "The SPOs will stay in the camps, we will protect them," the police officer said. "We have 10,000 men of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force in Bastar, apart from the district police. The counterinsurgency operations would continue." But officers on the ground were not so optimistic. "It is a major setback," said one SP. "The Maoists will gain in a big way. The police camps will become more vulnerable."
No comments:
Post a Comment