VIJAYAPURA: Four personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), Vijayapura, have been suspended for boycotting election duty in Chhattisgarh apparently fearing a possible Naxal attack on them. The four were posted to the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, a Naxal-infested region, which went to poll recently.
When they failed to turn up for duty on the reporting day, Commandant in-charge of IRB Vijayapura Ramkrishna Muddepal suspended them.
Speaking to TNIE, Muddepal said, “The four have been suspended after they failed to report for duty. We don’t have information on whether they stayed away from duty fearing Naxal attack. However, they will face action and inquiry will be done under the KSP Disciplinary Proceedings Rules 1965/89 Act.’’
A few of their colleagues had witnessed the killing of their superior officer in a Naxal-hit area of Chhattisgarh during the previous Assembly elections, sources said, adding that the four feared that they too would suffer a similar fate if they took the risk of working in the state.
As many as 10 companies, including seven of Karnataka State Reserve Police, have been deployed for election duty in Chhattisgarh. Among them, 281 police personnel, including 11 police officers, are from IRB, Vijayapura. The same teams have also been deployed for the polls in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana aand are expected to return only after that.
Speaking to TNIE, a police personnel on condition of anonymity said, “Four police personnel remained away from election duty after they felt that they might be killed in a Naxal attack.After their family members forced them to keep away from the poll duty, they finally decided against reporting without bothering about the action which they could face.’’
He further said, “ The previous election duty at Chhattisgarh was a nightmare to all of us as one of our colleagues was killed in a Naxal attack. Though the government provided compensation to the victim’s family, one of his family members was disturbed mentally and has failed to recover till now. This has mentally affected the four personnel who decided to not to report at Chhattisgarh.”