The Root of all Evil

Combat Stress and its dire implications

After the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur to contain the recrudescence of gratuitous violence unleashed by the foreign trained insurgents, a considerable number of security forces were deployed in every nook and cranny of the state. The troopers are forced to have a sequestered life to insulate them from the ubiquitous insurgents. Apart from ambuscades, there have been incidents where the troopers have been ambushed and killed while off duty.

Apart from uncertain lives, the troopers have to wait for weeks to get a letter from home or have to line up in long queues at the pay phones to talk to their near and dear ones before the use of mobile phone facilities. Even now mobile facilities are undependable in the remote areas where they are posted. The stress on the troopers is incalculable as most of them become sitting ducks as the insurgents are masters in guerilla and mountain warfare. In this psychologically uncertain Catch-22 it is understandable that some of them suffer from frayed nerves and had gunned down their officers and colleagues and massacred innocent civilians to settle scores with the insurgents who had escaped after taking pot shots at them. Notwithstanding Irom Sharmila’s fast unto death since November 2, 2000 and orchestrated demands to repeal the AFSPA, the government says that this sledge hammer is a must to smack the wasp.

Several years ago a Sikh post commander of a CRPF camp at Canchipur had massacred some constables before scooting with an LMG. Till date, he is yet to be smoked out. Later he had surrendered to an insurgent group, the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) which had arranged for his safe passage. Now there are indications that he is now an instructor of the outfit’s new recruits. One trooper of 5 Assam Rifles at Jiribam had gunned down four colleagues and seriously wounded another in September 2005. On October 7, 2005 another trooper gunned down a colleague and then committed suicide.

A trooper of 19 Assam Rifles posted at Nungdum, Ukhrul district, gunned down his post commander on November 3, 2006 and then committed suicide. It was reported that he was denied leave and thus could not go home. In April 2007 an Assam Rifles trooper, Ambati Narayan, shot dead two subedars, Mithu Jaya and Thanapan at the Khengjang post. In July 2008 trooper Ashok Kumar of J & K Light Infantry shot Major Ankit Varandhawaj in Chandel district who died on the spot. In January 21, 2009 one trooper of 17 Assam Rifles killed six troopers including a JCO in Ukhrul district.

In the last incident reported which took place in Imphal, one CRPF constable shot dead an officer and three others. This constable could not get up one morning for the morning drill and an irate officer rudely woke him up for a tongue lashing. But the groggy constable snatched a service rifle and mowed down those nearby. Since stress is mounting, such bloody incidents are on the increase. Are the senior officers and Union Defence Minister A. K. Antony concerned about the stress-induced crimes among the security forces?