59 CoBRA commandos returning to Bihar take home break on own

In a glaring case of misconduct, 59 newly-trained commandos of the CRPF's elite anti-Maoist CoBRA squad went to their homes in Bihar without informing or seeking permission while on their way back to their unit from Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), one of the country's oldest central paramilitary forces, has initiated a departmental inquiry against these troopers who were scheduled to report to their headquarters of the 205 CoBRA unit in Bihar's Gaya on Monday.

The troopers were to be deployed for conducting special anti-Maoist operations in Bihar after completing a six-month training at the force's Recruitment Training Centre in Srinagar, a CRPF official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IANS.

A CRPF statement on Monday said the 59 CoBRA (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action) commandos stepped down from a train at Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday and went to their homes in Bihar instead of returning to their unit.

"After completing their six-month training, started from August 25, 2016, the CRPF was to send the commandos to their unit in Gaya in Sealdah Express on February 5. Due to inclement weather and road blockade, these personnel were sent to Jammu on February 1 and decided to board an early train on the next day," the statement said.

"As the last destination of the train they boarded was Mughalsarai, they were asked to take another train for forward journey. Since they were early as per their scheduled programme, they decided on their own to avail Saturday and Sunday (January 4 and 5) leave and visit their homes without prior permission from competent authority," it said.

The statement said that these personnel have committed a misconduct for which they will be dealt departmentally.

--IANS

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