Inside drawbacks, training problems behind massacre: Army chief
By IANSWednesday, April 7, 2010
NEW DELHI - Army chief General V.K. Singh Thursday cited “inside drawbacks” and “training problems” as possible reasons for the massacre of 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chhattisgarh. He declined to comment on whether the army would fight the rebels.
“The political leadership of the country has to decide whether the army is to be deployed for anti-Maoist operations. They will take a decision after considering so many aspects. It is difficult for me to say whether the army would be deployed or not, Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
“Whatever they think, action will be taken accordingly,” he added.
Asked if the CRPF operation was faulty, Singh said: “Whatever has happened (massacre of security personnel in Chhattisgarh), there are inside drawbacks. It could be of training or could be something else. They (CRPF) are thinking over it. After deliberations, they will take appropriate measures.”
Singh said the army has trained 39,000 men from the state police and the CRPF.
“We give them a training package. Whatever training we give to the army, we give it to them. Let me put on record that the 62nd battalion of CRPF, that was attacked, was not trained by us. They (62nd battalion) have not come to the army for training.”
“However, in training there some problems areas because at times we don’t get homogeneous entity for training. When I say homogeneous entity, they do not come as a company. In army, the company is trained together… right from the officer to the men down the line. So when they (police/paramilitary) go for deployment, they face difficulties.
“I think we will try and see what more we can do for them. We have suggested some measures to the ministry of home affairs… once they are implemented, there will be a change,” he said.
Singh clarified that the home ministry has not asked for any unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
As many as 75 personnel from the CRPF and one head constable of the Chhattisgarh police were killed Tuesday after they were ambushed by Maoists in the jungles of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district.
