ITANAGAR, 7 Sep: The Arunachal Pradesh Police (APP) has reacted sharply to the remarks made in an article which was published in this daily on 5 September.
The APP said that the article, titled ‘Segregating the deserving’, written by Amar Sangno, “is factually incorrect and was published without obtaining the views of the police department.”
The article mentioned an encounter in Lower Dibang Valley district, following which a proposal for an award was rejected.
Clarifying the matter, the APP in a rejoinder stated that “five officers, including an APPS DSP, two sub-inspectors, and one constable, besides the district SP, were awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry by the government of India
on the recommendation of the government of Arunachal Pradesh after due scrutiny at the highest level.”
“A police constable, who was a part of the operation, was hit by a bullet on his bulletproof jacket and was treated for an injury to his ribs. The case is presently under trial and the court has framed charges against all the arrested accused persons,” it said.
Stating that the matter is sub judice, the APP said that it would not be fair to prematurely comment on the veracity of the evidence under consideration.
On the surrender programme in Longding, the APP said: “The author has been unable to appreciate that this has been a joint effort of the district administration, police, Assam Rifles, and the CRPF.”
It said that the surrender ceremony was held in the administrative complex of the district, and the surrender certificates were given by the deputy commissioner, in the presence of all stakeholders concerned.
“An official surrender ceremony is an important milestone in the life of an individual who has been part of a banned underground organisation for several years. Besides relieving the individual from the clutches of insurgency, the surrender certificate legitimises his promise to lead a civilised life in the future,” it said.
The APP further stated that “the article appears to be an attempt to undermine the success of security forces and state administration to induce the surrender of active cadres as part of the operation mainstream. The unprecedented mass protest rally by the locals on 30 May this year is a clear indicator of the same.”
“The young author of the article, in fact, should have been disappointed in finding a lone person on the gold medal awardees’ list. If amongst the thousands of state government employees, only one person has been found good enough for a gold medal, then it should not be a matter to feel contented. Giving out medals to the wrong persons should be a cause for concern, rather than giving out medals to more persons,” the APP said.
It further stated that the article also painted all All-India Service officers with the same brush, “which is unfair to a large number of young officers who are doing exceptional work in the state.”
The Arunachal Times stands by the author and his article.
