Midnapore:
Five days after 24 people were killed in a Maoist attack on a police camp in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal, special IG of Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR), Benoy Chakraborty, has blamed the district administration.
Chakraborty was later suspended by the West Bengal government.
But what's surprising is that the Special IG kept his face covered throughout the press conference on Saturday in which he came down heavily on the state authorities, particularly West Midnapore Superintendent of Police chief Manoj Verma, for not providing proper infrastructure.
"Despite acute infrastructural problems, our men (EFR) shot dead five of the Maoists at the camp and I feel proud of them as they fought bravely," Special Inspector General, EFR, Benoy Chakraborty told reporters at Salua camp of the paramilitary force.
Holding West Midnapore Superintendent of Police Manoj Verma "fully responsible" for the incident on February 15, he said the jawans have been totally "misused" and "utterly ignored" by the police.
"The Silda camp was most unprofessionally set up at a crowded place making it extremely difficult for the EFR jawans to function," he charged.
Chakraborty said, "Over the years, the basic needs of the personnel were overlooked and rather they were inhumanly treated by the authorities".
Chakraborty also said there was "total lack of security at the EFR camp and the jawans were subjected to negligence by the authorities."
There was no visit by the authorities to camps like the one at Silda, he said.
"No sympathy was shown to the EFR jawans and rather their role was criticised during the Maoist attack at the camp.
"On a number of occasions, we drew attention of the state government and the SP to the state of affairs of EFR camps and its jawans, but their grievances were not redressed," he alleged.
(With PTI inputs)