Amid the controversy over the use of pellet guns against protesters at Jantar Mantar, The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) chief has told the troops to act fearlessly and assured them he would take responsibility for their actions.
Addressing the force's investiture ceremony on Monday, CRPF Director-General Gyanendra Pratap Singh said, “As the Director-General of the CRPF, I want to assure each one of you that whether it is an operational battalion or a law-and-order unit, whatever decisions you take and whatever actions you carry out in the bona fide discharge of your duties, I take responsibility for all those decisions and actions. Continue to perform your duties fearlessly. Wherever responsibility or accountability needs to be taken, I will take it as the Director-General.”
His remarks come as the CRPF's Rapid Action Force (RAF) faces scrutiny over its handling of the Cockroach Janta Party’s July 20 march to Parliament against paper leaks, during which pellet guns were used against protesters at Jantar Mantar and other parts of central Delhi.
Days earlier, Singh had told news agency ANI that a “professional post-event assessment” would be conducted into the actions of RAF personnel during the protest.
The RAF, a specialised CRPF unit trained in riot control, crowd management and handling civil unrest, routinely carries out such assessments after major operations as part of the force's standard operating procedure (SOP).
The review will examine the circumstances under which pellet guns were used, the conditions that led to action against protesters, and the sequence of events to determine whether the use of the weapons was in accordance with established protocols.