Govt appoints officer to probe Maoist attack

Two days after the worst-ever Maoist attack in which 76 CRPF personnel lost their lives, the government today appointed an inquiry officer who will probe the ambush by Naxalites in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.

Two days after the worst-ever Maoist attack in which 76 CRPF personnel lost their lives, the government today appointed an inquiry officer who will probe the ambush by Naxalites in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.

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Former Director General of BSF EN Rammohan has been asked to conduct the inquiry and submit a report within 15 days to establish the circumstances preceding and the sequence of events leading to the incident of April 6, 2010.

According to an order issued by the Union Home Ministry, 69-year-old Rammohan, a 1965-batch IPS officer, will reconstruct as far as possible the actual events that took place on that day from 0500 hours to 1200 hours and until the first rescue party reached the spot.

He will also examine the call details of the mobile telephones used by the deceased and injured personnel of the CRPF during the encounter and gather evidence from family members and others that would throw light on the events that took place during the ambush.

He will analyse and establish the command structure or hierarchy and the specific levels which took relevant decisions concerning the operation.

The inquiry officer will also examine the quality of training imparted to the relevant companies of CRPF and the details of standard operating procedures.

He will examine the response of the state police and the CRPF both during the ambush and the post-ambush relief and rescue operations besides suggesting measures to mitigate the lapses, if any, so that such incidents do not recur.

The announcement of the appointment of the inquiry officer comes soon after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram acknowledged that "something went wrong" during the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh.

"We have taken a decision to institute an inquiry into what went wrong," Chidambaram told reporters, replying to a volley of questions on Tuesday's attack in the jungles of Dantewada district.