CRPF red-faced as Maoists loot Bulgarian grenade launcher

While Maoists have built indigenous rocket launchers and mortars to attack choppers and stations,they lack accuracy and damage capacity. Expressing concern at the loss,CRPF IG (Chhattisgarh) H S Siddhu told The Sunday Express,“It’s an important weapon. It’s unfortunate that they managed to take it away. But we will recover it. We have intensified operations.”

“It’s the first instance that forces have lost a UBGL. Its loss is a setback for the forces,” said Vishwaranjan,former DGP of Chhattisgarh.

Siddhu,however,added that since the launcher and its rounds are imported,“its usage will be limited”. “They have only 10 rounds. They cannot manufacture them,” he said,indicating once the grenades are exhausted,the launcher would be useless.

Others differ. “They have taken away a very effective weapon. You never know where and when they will use it. Second,since they now have it,they will always be looking for more rounds. They may not instantly manufacture them,but they now have something to begin with,” said an officer.

The CRPF is also facing criticism over a recent incident when Maoists ambushed their road opening party for a civic action programme in a Bijapur. Besides the UBGL,the Maoists also took away a Light Machine Gun,an INSAS and hundreds of rounds as they killed four CRPF cops and injured three others.

Firstly,the Central paramilitary troops were walking on the road,in an apparent disregard of the considered SOP of avoiding roads during such searches. As they were in the open,they quickly came under fire. Secondly,the front row carried the LMG and UBGL,generally considered to be area weapons possessed by the subsequent rows. Thirdly,while Maoists came forward,cut open the belts of the deceased cops and took out the grenades and rounds,the others could not prevent them from looting the weapons.

Defending his forces,Siddhu said: “A road opening party has to ultimately secure the road. Some will search inside,some will have to be on the road. They had planted 10 IEDs. After the initial fire,they blasted these IEDs one after another. In the smoke and dust,they managed to take away the weapons.”

The UBGL,inducted only recently,is carried only by select units of paramilitary forces. In Chhattisgarh,only STF has a few UBGLs.

This is the second big weapon loss of CRPF this year. During the Latehar incident in January,Maoists had taken away two X-95 rifles. The Israel-make rifles are also held only by selective units and excel in close combats.

Biggest heists

February 6,2004: Koraput armoury raid. 536 weapons,several thousand rounds.

November 2005: Giridih armoury raid. 180 .303 rifles,12 .22 rifles,two revolvers,2,639 rounds.

February 9,2006: NMDC godown Dantewada. 19 tonnes of explosives,fourteen SLRs,one 9 mm pistol and 2,430 rounds of ammunition. The first instance when explosives in such large quantity were looted.

February 15,2008: Armouries of Nayagarh district and police training schools. Over 1,200 weapons and 1.75 lakh rounds.

November 2013: One UBGL