The shell of a bullet fired by Maoists. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

Gidhni (West Midnapore), Nov. 9: The four Eastern Frontier Rifles jawans killed by Maoists here yesterday had been “too relaxed”, a top officer said today.

The slain personnel’s colleagues, however, suggested the blunders may have resulted from low troop morale, caused by lack of visits or briefings by senior officers reluctant to step out of their “air-conditioned rooms”.

Inspector-general Anil Kumar of the state armed police, however, claimed the opposite: that the 27 jawans at the EFR camp might have become “easygoing” because they had not been attacked in their 10 days of deployment here.

But he had to admit that “slack” or not, the personnel were not safe even within their gates and that only “God” could save them if the Maoists attacked the camp.

Kumar, after a visit to the camp, said that had the four victims followed the “basic rules of a combat zone”, they could have saved themselves.

He revealed that the two other jawans present at the scene had turned and fled to the camp 100 metres away instead of firing at the Maoists. Yesterday, inspector-general (law and order) S.K. Purakayastha had said the two policemen had engaged the Maoists in a 10-minute gun battle.

“The attackers could have been neutralised,” Kumar said. “They (the six jawans) were too relaxed. If they had been alert, they could have quickly taken up position and retaliated.”

Kumar said that after patrolling last evening, two vehicles carrying 18 jawans had stopped at Gidhni bazaar. Twelve walked off to their camp, four entered the market for tea and shopping and two waited in one of the vehicles. Officers probing the incident cited several lapses:

The four slain jawans were standing too close, two before a tea stall and two before the adjacent cycle shop, making themselves an easy target. Police on armed patrol are supposed to keep 10 feet between any two personnel. “Their patrol had not ended since they were yet to return to their camp,” an officer said.

The four slain jawans had their guns dangling loosely by their sides. They should have kept them up in a ready-to-shoot position.

The two in the vehicle should have covered their colleagues, keeping their guns at the ready. When the shooting started, they should have taken cover behind the vehicle or a tree and fired.

Some of the jawans, on being told about Kumar’s comments, retaliated. “Motivation is very low here,” a jawan said. “That is the job of our superiors. They should visit camps regularly and brief us. But they hardly do. They sit in their air-conditioned rooms and pass instructions.”

The jawans said the 27 personnel in the camp would be lambs to the slaughter if the Maoists attacked in their usual groups of 50 to 100.

“Fortunately, the Maoists did not attack the camp,” Kumar admitted. “There are only 27 men in this camp. But who knows how a jawan can die? It all depends on God.”

He admitted that after last evening’s killings, force morale was now “really low” and said: “We will replace them with a fresh lot.”