NEW DELHI: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has assured its personnel that any decision taken in the “bona fide discharge of their duties” in the recent past would have the full backing of the force’s top leadership, officials said on Monday.“The CRPF headquarters has lauded the endurance and patience exhibited by the personnel while discharging their duties during the difficult situation they faced recently,” officials told PTI.“The top brass underlined and stressed that any decision made by the troops and ground officers in the interest of the nation, the force and for the bona fide discharge of their duties will have the headquarters’ support,” they added.The message came on the CRPF’s 87th Raising Day. A communication in this regard was sent to the field formations of the country’s largest paramilitary force, which handles various internal security duties, including riot and crowd control.Although the message did not specify what it meant by the “recent past”, it came days after the Rapid Action Force (RAF), the CRPF’s specialised riot-control wing, allegedly used pellet guns against student protesters during their march to Parliament in Delhi on July 20.The force is probing the alleged use of pellet guns by the RAF.On this, officials asserted that any “reckless or unjustified action” by RAF personnel would invite disciplinary action as per the CRPF’s rules and applicable law.They reiterated that a formal Court of Inquiry (CoI) would be initiated once the RAF/CRPF probe establishes that the troops’ actions in Delhi last week were unjustified or violated standard operating procedures (SOPs).The probe is examining around 9-10 allegations against RAF/CRPF personnel, based on multiple social media videos and press reports, as well as instances where some jawans were allegedly left stranded and attacked by miscreants.According to officials, the inquiry is looking into the circumstances under which pellet guns and shock batons were reportedly used. They said the choice of weapon rests with the jawan on the ground, but any such decision must be justified and based on valid reasoning.
