When at work keep weapons away, Jammu & Kashmir Police to CRPF
The signal was addressed to all the district police officials in the 'Kashmir Zone' as well as to the Commanding Officers (COs) of the CRPF battalions posted there.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been deployed in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for decades but that has not helped it one bit in gaining the trust of the local police or so it seems.
This deficit manifested itself yet again when the state police issued a signal on Wednesday directing CRPF and its own personnel to report to duty without its weapons. The signal, accessed by this correspondent, went on to further order the security staff of senior officers who are mandated to carry weapons to 'restrict themselves within their vehicles', sparking outrage across ranks.
The signal was addressed to all the district police officials in the 'Kashmir Zone' as well as to the Commanding Officers (COs) of the CRPF battalions posted there.
| What did the signal say? From: Police J&K LOG 11A Dated: July 23, 2014 THE DEPLOYMENTS TO BE MADE IN THE EVE OF JAMAT-UL-VIDA, SHABI QADAR AND ID-UL-FITR (JULY 25, 26 & 29) SHOULD BE STRICTLY MADE IN L&O MODE ONLY NO WEAPON SHOULD BE CARRIED BY THESE DEPLOYMENTS REPEAT NO WEAPON TO BE ALLOWED THE PSOs CARRYING WEAPONS PERFORMING DUTIES WITH OFFICERS SHOULD BE RESTRICTED WITHIN THE VEHICLES ALL FIELD COMMANDERS TO ENSURE STRICT COMPLIANCE Expert Opinion  "In my opinion, only the risk should determine deployment and not sentiments. Either an armed deployment is required or is not required. If it is not required then the CRPF should simply be withdrawn from the state. And if it is required, then it must be with its full gear." Ceasefire Violations along the LoC |
"We understand that the police is trying to advise maximum restraint, especially with an eye on the upcoming religious events in the state. But by issuing such signals, they are portraying us as a bloodthirsty force which likes to kill. If the distrust is so much, might as well they send the CRPF out of the state," said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
Following this signal, on Wednesday evening, senior CRPF officers met their counterparts in J&K, in an effort to cool tempers. What was also apparent, as time went by, that the force would not fall in line with what the J&K police had asked of them. Zulfiquar Hasan, Inspector General (Operations), CRPF HQs said, "CRPF always carries weapons as per the threat perception and shall continue to do that. Our formations in J&K have taken up the matter with J&K Police." He expressed hope and said, "The matter will be resolved soon."
The first time such an order came to be issued was during 2007-09 and was opposed even then by the ground formations. Subsequently, however this was imposed upon the forces. In March 2013, when terrorists struck in Bemina, on the outskirts of Srinagar, lathi-wielding CRPF men were no match, as a result five of them lost their lives.
In J&K, CRPF has primarily been deployed towards assisting the local police and conducting counter-terrorism operations. Towards the same, in 2013, the CRPF lost nine of its men and had 504 injured. This year, while no lives have been lost, 155 personnel have sustained injuries.