Despite clear guidelines on how to go about an operation or even routine patrolling in the hilly and forested terrain of Bastar — the Maoist hotbed in Chhattisgarh — police and paramilitary personnel often do not follow the rules either due to negligence or compelling situations.

And in several cases, they end up either being killed or maimed.

The most recent case is that of the strike on a group of 50 CRPF and police personnel travelling in a truck and a jeep. They had deviated from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which required them to walk or take two-wheelers to avoid landmines. A landmine explosion killed 11 of the personnel.

“There are clear instructions to security personnel that they should only move on foot to avoid landmine attacks. But the personnel, who wear heavy bullet proof vests and carry weapons, get exhausted very fast because of excessive sweating in the humid climatic conditions of Bastar, forcing them to board vehicles after long treks in the forests,” a senior police officer engaged in anti-Naxalite operations said.

“Ninety per cent of the causalities of security personnel in Bastar are due to landmine blasts,” he said, adding that strictly following the rules can help reduce damage if not prevent it. Over the past two years, close to 200 securitymen have died in the region in Maoist attacks.

Though security personnel are advised not to move in large groups and instead move in small groups in different directions, the forces tend to ignore these directions, he said. The other rules applicable here are with regard to ready reinforcement, use of local breeds of dogs trained in detection of IEDs and on movement of forces in the Naxalite area, he added.

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