TRAGIC they certainly were, yet it would be a dangerous over-simplification to write off as "accidental" the deaths of two members of a bomb disposal squad in Bihar a few days ago. The men from a unit of the Bihar Military Police were supposed to be specialists, yet they were killed doing the job in which they were presumed to be proficient ~ defusing a bomb Naxals had planted in the Bankebazar block of Gaya district. Impressions of a competence-deficiency in the operation are created by a TV cameraman filming the "action" and two other cops sustaining serious injuries when the explosive device detonated. Why were they permitted to come so close to the bomb, was its potency so grossly under-estimated? There can be no valid explanation for either, seeking to be "heroes" on the idiot-box is unbecoming even if the top officials love doing that. And in the wake of intelligence reports of a link between the LTTE, the "masters" in IEDs (improvised explosive devices), and the Maoists no chances ought to have been taken. The deaths testify to unadulterated non-professionalism. When that blunder is assessed in the wake of the patrol in Dantewada walking into a decimating ambush, and other incidents of the kind, it is not surprising that left-wing extremists hold sway across such a vast swathe of the country. The populace is aware that the government cannot provide protection.
That lack of professional competence finds reflection all over the country. How successful have the police been in firefights with criminals, not to mention motivated militants (fake encounters discounted)? Would over 100 young stone-pelters have been killed in Srinagar if the cops had adhered to the prescribed practice of shooting below waist-level when breaking up a mob? Why, they have even fired tear-gas canisters directly at rioters. The so-called "special units" in both Central and state forces have seldom delivered. Even the elite National Security Guard made quite a hash of things in Mumbai on 26/11. The Delhi police's idea of security, as was evident during the Commonwealth Games, is to shut down the city. It is now apparent that all talk of police reform rings hollow, the Union home ministry lacks the leadership-quality to get the states to upgrade the functioning of their forces. Disgustingly, senior police officials never really press for improvement of their units: their "specialty" is furthering personal interests by sucking up to political bosses.
