We are shocked, says CRPF on Chhattisgarh cop’s remark

RAIPUR - The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Friday described as shocking Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwa Ranjan’s statement that he couldn’t “teach the CRPF troopers how to walk”.

Vishwa Ranjan made the stunning remark as Maoists carried out yet another bloody attack on the paramilitary force, killing 27 security personnel June 29.

A CRPF assistant cvommandant said he was shocked by the insensitive comment.

“No one wants to die deliberately… We are being hit hard for some time in Chhattisgarh and we will surely get over this worst phase. But I was not expecting that the Chhattisgarh (police chief) will question us publicly. His remarks are shocking and hurting,” the officer who is posted in Bijapur in Bastar region told IANS.

Vishwa Ranjan, a former additional director in the Intelligence Bureau, made the statement when journalists sought his comment in the wake of repeated killings of CRPF men in the state by Maoists.

The Maoists massacred 75 CRPF personnel in Dantewada April 6 and 27 security personnel, almost all of them from the CRPF, in Narayanpur June 29.

Vishwa Ranjan had also slammed the CRPF for not taking intelligence inputs seriously.

The CRPF officer said: “The statement has pained us because there are several things that can’t be said publicly. It should have been discussed only in closed-door meetings.”