NEW DELHI, Sept 9: CRPF has recommended gallantry medals to ten of its martyred personnel who fought against Naxals in a fierce encounter in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh earlier this year.
At the same time, the para-military force suspended 17 personnel for deserting their martyred colleagues during the deadly ambush, CRPF Inspector General (Operations) in Chhattisgarh H S Sidhu said today.
“Ten out of the 11 martyred personnel of the force have been recommended for a gallantry medal. The same decoration has been sought for four state policeman who went down fighting a strong squad of Maoists in March this year but not before giving a strong retaliation,” he told PTI.
The facts of the incident came to light recently after a Court of Inquiry instituted immediately after the March 11 incident chronicled the sequence of events that took place.
In the same case, however, the Central Reserve Police Force recently ordered strict disciplinary action and suspended 17 of its troopers for “inaction” after the inquiry found they had deserted their martyred colleagues during the deadly ambush that left 16 people dead, including a civilian.
The ten slain personnel, according to a report prepared in this regard, fought valiantly to foil the Naxal ambush.
The same inquiry into the ambush found that the 17 suspended personnel, part of the squad that was trapped by Maoists in a narrow field, displayed “lack of action and did not show satisfactory counter action” to save their fellow troopers as they themselves ran for safety.
CPRF is the country’s largest paramilitary force with three lakh personnel and has the maximum deployment of troops in anti-Naxal operations at close to 90,000 personnel. The force has lost hundreds of men in combating Maoists over the years. (PTI)
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