Chhattisgarh Naxal attack: CRPF couldn’t fight back
A communications failure with the patrol party led to the tragedy
Raipur/New Delhi: Following the Naxal attack in the Kasalpara village in Sukma district, “operations were on to evacuate the trapped security personnel, including the injured”, additional DGP (Naxal operations) R.K. Vij said.
He added, “A communications failure with the patrol party led to the tragedy.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “words are not enough to condemn the brutal and inhuman attack by anti-national elements”, while home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh.
Mr Rajnath Singh said the attack was “an act of cowardice”. “Our CRPF jawans do not fire on innocents and they (Naxals) took advantage of this”, he said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Mr Singh cut short his visit to New Delhi and rushed back to Raipur late Monday evening, when he convened a midnight meeting with senior police and paramilitary officers to review the situation.
In its report to the MHA, the CRPF had said that its personnel “could not retaliate effectively in order to avoid collateral damage to civilian lives”.
Under the earlier UPA government, the Home ministry formalised a set of standard operating procedures asking the forces to “retreat” if they were using “civilians” as a cover.