The two separate incidents of fratricide and suicide in the CRPF on Monday have once again shed the spotlight on mental health issues among service personnel.
On Monday, CRPF constable Reetesh Ranjan opened fire on fellow personnel in Lingalapalli in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, killing four of them and injuring three others. In a press statement, the CRPF said Ranjan, who was apprehended with this weapon, seemed to have been suffering “emotional stress leading to sudden psychological disbalance”.
“The local police has begun investigation and CRPF has ordered an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the cause of incident and suggest remedial measures. Prima-facie it seems that due to some emotional stress leading to sudden psychological disbalance Reetesh Ranjan lost his control and in a fit of rage opened fire on his colleagues,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, in J&K’s Pulwama, a soldier deployed with the CRPF’s 185th Battalion was reported to have died by suicide.
With mental health of soldiers taking centrestage, the CRPF has decided to start ‘chaupal’ discussions involving jawans. In an official communication last month, DG CRPF Kuldiep Singh asked the force to hold village-style get-togethers as an emotional outlet for the jawans.
“In view of the increase in suicides in the force, it has been decided to start ‘chaupal’ after a detailed discussion. Generally, it has been found in researches that one thinks of suicide when the person fails to express himself to anyone. If the person gets the platform to express himself, up to a level, it can be stopped,” the letter had said.
The CRPF has reported 101 suicides within the force from 2020 till September 13 this year. The number is alarmingly high compared to the 116 cases reported in 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined. Sixty incidents of suicides were reported in the CRPF in 2020, while 41 have been reported this year. In 2019, the force reported 42 suicides, while 36 were reported in 2018.
According to the ‘Chaupal’ initiative, senior officers in all units will organise an informal get-together with junior staff. The groups should be small in size to enable discussion and the venue should be somewhere in the open rather than a formal hall, the CRPF communication said.
It further said that discussions should be 1-2 hours long and involve a group of 18-20 jawans. The meetings should be devoid of official chatter and be primarily about the personal lives of the soldiers. “Chaupals should be organised in a circular manner where people can talk to each other and confidentiality should be maintained,” the CRPF letter said.
The letter further emphasises that distressed and introverted soldiers should get special attention. “Batallion commanders should identify the personnel who are under depression due to various personal or professional issues. Once any unusual behaviour is noticed, assessed and confirmed in any individual, an administrative decision needs to be taken regarding re-deployment of such personnel for duty without arms/ammunition,” CRPF had said in a separate letter.
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