NEW DELHE: The Central Reserve Police Force will soon have an inspector general for supervising its operations in Punjab.
K.R_L, Prasad was promoted to the rank of Inspector General to take charge of this new office in Amritsar. The Government of India has been maintaining that the CRPF in Punjab is to assist the civil administration in the state.
However the creation of this post virtually amounts to the CRPF taking over the law and order machinery in Punjab.
The CRPF has been cited by numerous human rights organization including Punjab Human Rights Organization and the Amnesty International as being responsible for human rights abuses including “disappearances” while in police custody, torture, rape and extra judicial killings in fake encounters.
In related news in Chandigarh, it was revealed that the CRPF had called more than 797 Sikh activists captured 405 AK47 assault guns and in the process lost three officers and men,
This was revealed by Inder Singh LG. CRPF North Western Sector.
The CRPF captured 4250 weapons as well as ammunition.
The strength of the CRPF has been increasing. Presently there are 40 Batallions more than half of the forces strength of the force in India.
Founded in 1939 the CRPF has completed 50 years of its existence. It is a largely Hindu force which has been increasingly used to curb the aspirations of minority communities the Sikhs in Punjab, Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and other states and Christians in Assam and Kerala.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 4, 1989
