Can't teach CRPF how to walk, fumes Chhattisgarh DGP

A day after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had suggested that the Chhattisgarh government redeploy the Central Reserve Police Force in Naxal-hit areas, the state's police chief shot back by saying "we cannot teach the paramilitary personnel how to walk".

Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan said the state police does not have an answer as to why the CRPF was being repeately ambushed by Maoists. "If the CRPF is being repeatedly being ambushed, are we to answer for that? What does responsibility mean? Responsibility means making available whatever facilities possible. Responsibility means we together deploy the forces. Responsibility does not mean we will teach them how to walk,"the DGP told NDTV.

Chidambaram had said on Wednesday that "relocation and reconfiguration" of paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh may be required as some of them were not operationally viable. "These deployments have been made in 2007 and 2008. So, I have asked the Chhattisgarh government to examine the deployments in 2010," he had said.

In the wake of repeated attacks by Maoists on CRPF, the government is working out a plan for the redeployment of paramilitary forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations instates.