Chhattisgarh: 15 cops suspended for refusing to join anti-Maoist drive

RAIPUR – About 15 policemen were suspended in Chhattisgarh after they refused to take part in anti-Maoist operations, the state police chief said here Thursday.

“We have made groups of 100 policemen in insurgency-hit areas to launch anti-Maoist operations but 15 constables were reluctant to join the drive and were thus suspended,” Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwaranjan told IANS.

“I can’t tolerate indiscipline,” he said.

The suspended policemen were posted in Rajnandgaon district in the state’s western region bordering Maharashtra where the Maoists killed 29 policemen, including a district police chief, July 12.

Last month, 29 constables were suspended in Janjgir-Champa district after they refused to go for a 15-day orientation course at the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker district before being deployed for four-month long postings in areas affected by Maoist insurgency.

Chhattisgarh has been witnessing a string of attacks on policemen and civilians since June 2005 when a government backed civil militia movement, Salwa Judum, was launched in Bastar to flush out the rebels.

Over 1,500 people have been killed in Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh since November 2000, when the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. Breaking News