Chhattisgarh should revisit CRPF deployment: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday said the central government wanted Chhattisgarh to “revisit some of the deployment” of paramilitary forces in view of the frequent Maoist attacks in the state, including the Narayanpur ambush Tuesday that killed 27 security men.

“The deployments of the security forces in the state were made in the past three years when the state police resources were inadequate,” Chidambaram told reporters while the monthly report card of his ministry.

“We regret the loss of 27 lives,” Chidambaram said about the death of 26 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men and a state police constable in the Narayanpur attack. The Tuesday strike was the third major Maoist attack in the state since the April 6 Dantewada ambush in which 75 CRPF personnel and one state police constable were killed.

An internal inquiry has been ordered which will reveal whether the standard operating procedures (SOPs) were violated in Narayanpur, he said.

The home minister said the findings of the E.N. Rammohan commission, which had inquired into the Dantewada attack, has been shared with the Chattisgarh government. Asked whether there was any failure in the implementation of the report, he said the commission was asked to report on the failure of the chain of command during the Dantewada incident. The ongoing court of inquiry was an internal procedure of the CRPF.

Chidambaram said the Maoists have been continuing their violence in June, killing 53 civilains and branding many of them police informers.

Eighteen ultras have also been killed in retaliatory strikes by the security forces, Chidambaram said.