Siliguri, Dec. 14: The crack commandos of the special force raised to tackle militancy in the region are becoming rusty because of the absence of special training facilities and haphazard deployment.
The Darjeeling district combat force was formed in May 2000 and at present has a strength of 100 personnel, mostly of the rank of constables. While 50 of them are based in Siliguri, the rest are stationed in Darjeeling. The district superintendent of police is the overall in-charge of the force.
Former Darjeeling superintendent of police Sanjay Chander, under whose regime the force was created, said the squad was put together to stem militancy in the region with rebel groups like the KLO and its offshoots like the All Kamtapur Students’ Union and Kamtapur Students’ Organisation becoming active.
The main problem which plagues the members is that they are often asked by their superiors to perform “normal and routine police work”. This blunts agility and the physical acumen of the commandos who had undergone special training to handle high-risk incidents of a different nature.
Darjeeling superintendent of police Rajeev Mishra said: “We are in the process of addressing certain typical problems faced by our commando force members. Our current plans include creating better training facilities for the combat personnel at the district level. We are also trying to ensure that our commandos are used solely in controlling incidents which merit sophisticated and specific handling. A proposal had been mooted to increase the number of commandos from the existing 100.”
Among the difficulties face by the commandos include:
Failure of the local police authorities to arrange for mock drills and training sessions aimed at honing individual anti-insurgency skills. Special training include wielding semi-automatic weapons like SLRs, AK-47, AK-56 and carbines. This apart, they learn various camouflage and ambush techniques and the art of field-craft
Lack of co-ordination between the district police with the army, Eastern Frontier Rifles and the Border Security Force. Darjeeling commandos usually receive commando training at the EFR training centre in Salua near Kharagpur. The army sometimes pitches in with training skills: rock climbing tactic and rough terrain drills
Absence of “management skills” in officers who normally commandeer the combat force personnel
Lack of sophisticated training facilities at the local level for members of the quick reaction team (QRT). The combat force has a six-member QRT stationed in Siliguri
“We are also thinking of posting some commandos in Kalimpong given the region’s geo-strategic importance. Special anti-sabotage gear and sophisticated weapons would be given to them,” Mishra said.
Sources said the combat personnel are now being used to carry out routine raids and drills like controlling programmes of political parties.
“This should not be done since the commandos are meant to be deployed in exceptional cases, like specific law and order problem, tackling militant forces and operating in the rough hilly terrain of Darjeeling,” said a senior Darjeeling police officer, who did not want to be named.
What is more alarming is the fact that, of late, the commandos have started complaining about being denied the “extra perks” promised to them when the group was formed three years ago. The district police administration had then decided to give the commandos certain extra facilities. This is because the commandos are mostly called to tackle “exceptional cases”.
