Inhuman conditions,simmering anger led to IRB jawans’ revolt

On September 20,13 jawans of the camp asked for replenishment of their contingent when asked by the superior authorities to go for a raid at a known hideout for Maoists. The IC refused and marked all the 58 jawans of the camp “absent” from duty. They were also threatened with other departmental punishments.

And this ignited the anger that had been simmering in them for years and they sat for a hunger strike on September 21. They also refused entry to the commandant of the first battalion,Kalyan Kumar Mullick who had come for a check of the camp. Soon the revolt spread. The jawans said either the chief minister or one of her representatives would have to come to talk to them.

Alarmed,Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti,DG,armed police,to Shilda to sort out the matters. Chakrabarti assured the jawans of redressal of their grievances,following which they withdrew the agitation.

The camp had come up in March 2010, a month after the deadly attack by Maoists on an EFR (Eastern Frontier Rifles) camp just about a kilometre away at Shilda market on February 15,2010. Since the attack that saw the death 26 EFR jawans at the hands of Moaists,the camp was dismantled and an abandoned government office at the present site was converted into a camp. A CRPF unit was brought in but they refused to stay here saying: “Yahan koi insaan nahi rah sakta hai” (No human being can stay here)

Compare it with the comfort in which commandant Mullick lives in at his quarters at Durgapur,headquarters of IRB 1. Mullick,who hardly visits the camp,let alone staying here for one night,has 15 jawans deployed at his quarters and his office to attend to his personal work, which includes ironing,repairing shoes,etc. The assistant commandant too has five jawans attending to his personal work.

There is only one TV set and a carrom board for the 62 security personnel assigned to tackle Naxalites at the heart of the LWE land,for recreation.

“In the last one year we killed four poisonous snakes that sneaked in. When there is load-shedding,and it is quite often,we cannot start the generator because there is no diesel. On our own,we have made double sentry duty and at night we do patrol duty. We asked for some sand to build more bunkers but that was refused. We are sitting ducks for Maoists. One of our colleagues got injured in an accident while on official duty and he had to pay Rs 90,000 from his own pocket for his treatment,’’ said one jawan requesting anonymity.

Their main demand of course is transfer and posting in the district police. “Since our recruitment in 2003,we have been moving from one jungle to another. Men in other armed police units get posting after three years but we do not get it,” said one 24-year old jawan.

The jawans allege that so far at the headquarters at Durgapur,four of them have committed suicide and 10 have become mentally deranged.

Mullick,when asked about the suicides,said: “I can remember two suicides by jawans at the headquarters in Durgapur and one suffering form insanity. I don’t think the suicides were due to work conditions.”

“Our DG has submitted a report. We will definitely look into their grievances,’’ Kundan Lal Tamta,ADG,armed police,told The Sunday Express.