Ex-CRPF IG wrote to DGP in 2012, raised doubts over 514 at Ranchi jail

The letter written by the then IG M V Rao to the then DGP G S Rath, which has been accessed by The Indian Express, began by saying that he had been informed of the 514 men shortly after taking charge and had met them in the jail premises. Rao went on to share his concerns with the DGP, calling for urgent action as surrender policy was the domain of the state government and not of a paramilitary force like the CRPF.

In his letter, Rao noted that a Company of the 203rd Battalion of the CoBRA, stationed at the jail that was empty as a new facility had been constructed at the outskirts of Ranchi, was being tasked with looking after the men in custody. He went on to point out that the CoBRA was a specialised operations unit tasked with taking on LWE organisations. Rao also noted that most of the 514 men had no police record against them and this would amount to illegal confinement. The then IG was worried that the men were free to move around and that the CRPF would be held responsible if any of them were to move out and commit crimes.

The government’s action against Bodra began with a March 26 report from the police’s Special Branch, culminating in a May 8 request for a CBI inquiry. “I called for a report after hearing about the illegal surrenders. These boys and girls had to sell their land and become paupers as a result of this,” said N N Pandey, the state’s Home Secretary.

The Special Branch report notes that in 2012, the Screening Committee on surrenders had found only 56 of the 514 inmates of the old jail fit for surrender. Of the 56, five were cancelled and only six actually surrendered.

The six surrenders on February 18, 2013 was a major climbdown for senior officers in the CRPF and state police, who at one point during Bodra’s exploits planned a large event where 300-400 “Maoists” would surrender before the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. In the end, the event where the six surrendered was not even considered fit to be held in Ranchi. It was held in Khunti, with the DGP choosing not to attend and sending the IG of Ranchi instead.