CRPF may be able to search,seize without local cops

The draft Bill states that while the supervision and control of the force shall be vested with the Ministry of Home Affairs MHA,the command and control will lie with the Director General. The CRPF has around 80,000 men deployed in the seven states affected by Naxal violence.

When we go for operations we ought to have a representative from the state police along with us. If this clause comes into existence then we can go for independent operations, said a senior official.

Last year,Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had opposed a similar move to give the Border Security Force with arrest and search power. Modi,in his letter to the Prime Minister,had said that it would create state within a state.

The CRPF will continue to act as per the needs and requirements of the state police but some additional powers are being planned for it since the force is expanding and deployed in operations, said the official.

One another provision to be included in the proposed Bill is the need for Centres nod to prosecute a CRPF officer. Though this rule exists under Criminal Procedure Act,it will now be formally included in the CRPF Act, said the official.