Bengal to station special force at 3 places.... Move triggered by clashes

The police personnel deployed in Asansol during the recent violence. Picture by Santosh Kumar Manda

Monalisa Chaudhuri,  TT, Apr 04, 2018, Calcutta: The Bengal government has decided to raise three specialised rapid action force battalions and station them in Siliguri, Durgapur and Barrackpore to handle law and order problems without delay.

The decision to form the battalions with 1,007 personnel each assumes significance amid questions on whether police response to last week's communal strife in the Asansol and Raniganj coal belt over Ram Navami celebrations was delayed as specialised forces had to be despatched from Calcutta.

"Moving the forces from different parts of the state takes time. But now, these battalions will be the first to react in times of crisis. Because of their strategic location, in north, central and south Bengal, these battalions can reach the troubled areas fast," said a senior officer of the police directorate.

A government notification issued last week speaks about creation of 3,021 posts for the three battalions. The posts will be created under 25 categories, including one commandant, one deputy commandant, seven assistant commandants, 19 inspectors, 39 sub inspectors, 146 assistant sub inspectors and 670 constables.

The force will be stationed in three corners of Bengal for their easy mobility - on the lines of the National Security Guard hubs which were set up across metros for quicker response to a crisis, post the Mumbai terror attack in 2008.

The NSG - an elite force specialised to combat terror attacks - had come into existence after the Operation Blue Star in Punjab but felt the need to set up multiple bases across India for effective response to a crisis after the Mumbai terror attacks.

In Bengal, at least till now, teams of Calcutta police and senior officers from other police districts are sent elsewhere to tackle law and order situations in most of the cases.

According to a senior police officer, during communal strife or identity-related protests like what Darjeeling witnessed, the specialised force needs to react in the first few hours by cracking down heavily on trouble mongers and then conducting route marches to establish their presence.

"Even a couple of hour's delay in response can create havoc and unrest can spread like wildfire. So, prompt action during such situations is the golden rule of policing," explained the officer.

Several residents of Raniganj and Asansol had complained that the initial response of the police was responsible for the spread of the strife in little time.

The situation at both the places could be brought under control only after specialised forces from Calcutta and other places reached the spots.

Similarly, during communal clashes in Howrah's Dhulagarh, Barrackpore and Basirhat last year, senior IPS officers had to be sent to control the situation.

"We want to rule out such possibilities in future and that's the logic behind this move," said a home department source.

Each of the three battalions will comprise 1,007 police personnel, who will receive specialised training to handle sudden law-and-order deterioration. Broadly, they will receive training in handling arms, controlling mob with lathis, techniques of one-to-one combat, containing arson, teargas firing, operating water canons and rendering emergency medical aid to an injured person, sources said.

"Once we have a dedicated team that has trained together to handle a law and order crisis, their formations and approach on the ground will have a systematic impact on the mob," said a senior IPS officer.