Dumped SPOs from Chamba feel cheated

SHIMLA, DEC 21: Resentment is brewing among local youths in the militancy-affected border villages of Chamba following the state government’s decision to retrench 167 special police officers (SPOs) who were recruited two years ago to assist the police and paramilitary forces in the area.

Reports received from Chamba said the police had issued orders for retrenchment of these SPOs under the guise of giving them a three-month break for the winter season. At least 50 SPOs already posted in the border villages observed a token strike on Friday to seek immediate intervention of the government to restore their services.

After militants killed 41 people in Chamba in 1998 in two separate incidents, the state government asked the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and paramilitary forces to take the help of local villagers to guard the borders. Seventy SPOs were recruited immediately after the incident, followed by a second batch of 66 in June 1999.