JUST 60 IRP PERSONELL WERE PRESENT AT BALLI ON TH E VIOLENCE DAY

PANJIM: Only 60-odd policemen from the "striking force" of the Goa police's -- Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) -- were present at Balli when violence broke out on May 25. Rest of the 500 -plus trained and armed IRB personnel were busy guarding ministers houses, doing odd clerical jobs at the police headquarters or manning the traffic.

And all these "unsanctioned" duties fall outside the purview for which they were recruited and posted in the IRB in 2006. "When the local police failed to maintain law and order, it is the IRB's job as the striking force to maintain law and order. But today the IRB is dismantled and there are hardly few men to perform the functions for which it was established," admitted a senior officer.

Though on paper there are 600 plus armed men in the IRB in Goa, in reality, as of today, only 60-odd IRB police constables are engaged in armed duty, of which 20 each are posted in reserve with the two district SPs.

Now, with the police inefficiency in controlling the crowd of 5,000-odd agitators exposed, and finding themselves without enough men to carry out the lathi charge thereby forcing the men in khakhi to flee when the agitators started pelting stones, the police top brass have now asked to regroup the IRB men who were disintegrated and asked to perform "unsanctioned" jobs.

"Many were posted for unsanctioned duties at police stations, security duty, traffic duty, jail duty and in the Police Control Room vehicles. Whenever there is deficiency of staff, the IRB staff is posted there to temporarily fill the requirement and show on paper that there is adequate strength," said sources.

For instance, one company of IRB, consisting of three platoons are posted at Raj Bhavan. This was done after a company of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) withdrew from Raj Bhavan over payment issues. Recently, after the high court decided to enhance its security, the security wing of the police department, which is already short -staffed requested for the IRB personnel to be posted for high court security duty. Also several IRB constables are posted on guard duty outside the houses of ministers, MLAs and ex-MLAs. About 50-odd IRB staff is posted at the Goa secretariat for security duty.

The fact is that on paper, IRB is a reserved force, to be used only for emergency situations. "But amidst severe shortage of police personnel and increasing workload of the police and a general feeling in the government that Goa is peaceful and there is no law and order problem, the IRB was unofficially dismantled. No one then thought about a situation like in Balli and conveniently posted the trained and armed reserved policemen for regular policing duties," said police sources.

When contacted, police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande admitted, "It is correct that IRB strength is close to 600. But IRB is doing multifaceted jobs and are deployed wherever there is requirement. Majority are deployed for guard duties for VIPs and vital installations. Whatever balance remains is made available for law and order duty."