CHANDIGARH: The Beant Singh Government is pulling out the Punjab police commando battalions deployed in other states in a phased manner during the next six months. Though the State government is unlikely to make a formal state Tent on the issue, sources said that while some units will return after serving for three months, the remaining will be back after a six month stint. Beant Singh had given an indication of the impending move following the Andhra Pradesh ambush last fortnight saying that some “rethinking” would be done ‘on the issue. Five commandos, including the commandant and the deputy commandant, were killed in the Naxalites ambush. An official spokesman also said that the government had decided to introduce “rotation” of the commando battalions for deployment in other states. In case the Center again asked for Punjab commandos, different units would be sent, he added, but sources said that in view of the opposition to the move from within the force, further deployment in this manner was unlikely.

Sources also disclose that the state has run into problems regarding the expenditure on these battalions. The Punjab Government, for instance, has had to spend about Rs 20 lakh in providing winter gear to the Punjab policemen deployed in the Chamba hills bordering Jammu and Kashmir. The Himachal Pradesh Government is not ready to foot this bill and the ball at the moment is in the Center’s court. Similarly, the Punjab policemen posted in the hill areas of Assam have now been moved to the plains as they cannot face the harsh winter, according to reliable sources.

The Principal Secretary of the Punjab Home Department, N.K. Arora, said, “We have to look after our boys and are not letting any procedural quibbling come in the way of fulfilling their needs. The government is taking all steps to ensure that their morale remains high, he added.

Sources disclose that the Punjab police men are also viewed as “outsiders” both by the local population and the local police and are therefore, alienated to a large extent, making it difficult for them to deliver the goods. Lack of proper discipline on the part of the commandos has caused considerable embarrassments to the Punjab police top brass. Several men of the battalion posted in AP had resorted to unprovoked firing in the air under the influence of alcohol. At least nine of these commandos had to be suspended.

More than 50 men of another battalion despatched to Assam amid tall claims by the police leadership filed a writ petitioned masse in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the order of their deployment outside the state.

The battalion posted in Chamba also embarrassed the Punjab Government by forcibly taking over a bungalow of the forest department and a wildlife department guest house. The deputy commissioner of the district had taken strong exception to this and a DIG of the Punjab Police had to be rushed to the spot to resolve the matter.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 9, 1994