'Heart attacks, suicides killing more CRPF men than Naxals'

Heart attacks, malaria and a host of other diseases coupled with suicide cases have killed more personnel in the country's largest paramilitary CRPF than encounters with Naxals and insurgents over the last half decade, a report prepared on the state of affairs of this vital force of the country has said.
Amongst the diseases, heart attack and cardiac illness instances have claimed the maximum number of lives of the Central Reserve Police Force men and women as over 600 personnel have succumbed to them between 2009 and 2014.
The report, prepared to showcase issues and challenges being faced by the most important internal security force of the country, said, "hard and harsh" working conditions in the force have led to "adverse bearing" on the physical and mental state of CRPF officers and personnel.

While over 2,900 personnel of the force died due to diseases and non-operational tasks during the said period, 252 personnel were killed during operations or security tasks during the comparative period.
Amongst the other major medical causes which claimed the lives of CRPF troops are suicides (207 cases), cancer (231 cases), malaria (102) and HIV/AIDS (153 cases). This was the same time the force saw maximum operational action in various Naxal violence affected states of the country.
A total of 614 cases of death due to heart attack or cardiac diseases were recorded during the same period, making it the most alarming cause of medical challenge for the three-lakh personnel strong central paramilitary.

Amongst the other causes of death in service for these men and women were fratricide (36 cases), tuberculosis (33 cases) while 1,544 troops died due to other reasons like hepatitis, jaundice, brain hemorrhage, renal failure, heat stroke, accidents and a variety of idiopathic illnesses.
The report, accessed by PTI, has been submitted to the government for action and redressal.
"The force personnel, at most of the places of deployment, are made to live in sub-human conditions to such an extent that they have suffered 102 malarial deaths and 8,282 malaria cases during the last five years. The working conditions in the force are very harsh," it said.