POLICE ATROCITIES IN
POLITICAL WILDERNESS
The indirect ‘spat’ between Kishore Chandra Dev, Union
Tribal Minister, and the Union Home
Minister, P. Chidambaram, has laid bare the hollowness of the official claims
that the 29 June 2012 raid on suspected Maoists in Bijapur district of
Chattisgarh was a real encounter between armed Maoists and the CRPF and State
Police. Of course, the Police insist that Maoists use people of the region as
human shields while confronting the security forces and hence innocent people
also do or may suffer in the process, but there are some salient norms to be
followed in armed conflicts when innocent or ignorant people are used in such a
manner. Reckless or ‘panicky’ firing responses are not called for in such
eventualities even if the first shots may be from the rebel groups. If the
police had information that Maoists are holding a meeting in a village, they
should have been amply forewarned that many innocent villagers would
participate in it, especially in an area claimed and unofficially recognized as
a Maoist liberated area. Contrary to the claims of the Director General of CRPF
that the police conducted themselves with extreme restraint and the backing by
Mr. Raman, Chief Minister of Chattisgarh, that it was a real encounter in which
people could have suffered due to the human shield tactics of the Maoists, we
find the firing being wild and jumpy with even women and children killed in its
course. Though Kishore Chandra Dev has tried to downplay their internal
differences saying he acted according to ‘the inputs he got’ and the Home
Minister as per ‘information he got’, the conduct of the Home Minister is
hasty, cold and totally unjustified. The callousness of the bureaucracy in the
entire affair is truly revolting. And we do agree with Swami Agnivesh that the
Prime Minister should rise to the occasion and apologize – at least for the
deaths of innocent women and children and duly compensate them. The Judicial
enquiry ordered may bring out the real facts and reasons for this gory killing
but there is urgent need to curb the ‘panic reflexes’ and ‘trigger happiness’
of the police forces also. Finally, this acute armed conflict should be viewed
more as a socio-economic problem to be solved than a mere law and order or
security concern to be overcome by the use of superior armed force §§§
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