NEW DELHI: A PIL in the Supreme Court has sought an urgent rectification of the traditional focus on bravery and physical fitness that largely overlooked the stress-affected mental health of armed police personnel in conflict zones, resulting in an unacceptably high number of suicides and fatal incidents.
Two retired CRPF members in their PIL said that during 2007-2019, as many as 148 members of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), deployed in Naxal-affected areas bastard district, committed suicide. But the dismal statistics did not prompt the authorities to carry out a proper study to assess the mental health of personnel deployed in the disturbed areas to take concrete preventive measures, they said.
petitioners’ attorney shilpa liza george said in August last year, the Union minister of state for the home Nityananda Rai he had reported to the Rajya Sabha that a total of 680 staff members had committed suicide in the last six years. However, the government remained silent on the scrupulous implementation of well-intentioned laws (the Mental Health Act of 2017 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016) in the CAPFs.
Petitioners Mahavir Singh and T. Unnikrishnan, who retired as CRPF sub-inspectors, asked the SC to order the Union government, as well as the CAPFs, “to periodically carry out specific mental health assessments of all their personnel to ensure that they are not only physically but also mentally healthy.” while on duty.” They said adequate financial and administrative provisions must be made to hire expert psychiatrists to counsel stressed staff and conduct regular tests to assess their mental health.
The petitioners said that the incidents of suicide and fratricide coming to public knowledge are just the tip of the iceberg of the deeper, darker problem that haunts most CAPFs, adding that even the Indian military is not immune to the problems of mental health.
Citing data from the National Office of Criminal Records, the petitioners said that as many as 439 CAPF staff members committed suicide between 2014 and 2019, when 220 CAPF staff members died on duty, pointing to a grim situation that required urgent attention.
Referring to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Rs 1,053 crore Modernization Plan-III, the petitioners said that CAPF has not been able to fully spend its budget allocation of Rs 619.63 crore (2018-20). They said the money should be used for the welfare of armed police personnel and the hiring of trained psychiatrists to ensure that all soldiers and CAPF personnel are physically and mentally fit.
Two retired CRPF members in their PIL said that during 2007-2019, as many as 148 members of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), deployed in Naxal-affected areas bastard district, committed suicide. But the dismal statistics did not prompt the authorities to carry out a proper study to assess the mental health of personnel deployed in the disturbed areas to take concrete preventive measures, they said.
petitioners’ attorney shilpa liza george said in August last year, the Union minister of state for the home Nityananda Rai he had reported to the Rajya Sabha that a total of 680 staff members had committed suicide in the last six years. However, the government remained silent on the scrupulous implementation of well-intentioned laws (the Mental Health Act of 2017 and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016) in the CAPFs.
Petitioners Mahavir Singh and T. Unnikrishnan, who retired as CRPF sub-inspectors, asked the SC to order the Union government, as well as the CAPFs, “to periodically carry out specific mental health assessments of all their personnel to ensure that they are not only physically but also mentally healthy.” while on duty.” They said adequate financial and administrative provisions must be made to hire expert psychiatrists to counsel stressed staff and conduct regular tests to assess their mental health.
The petitioners said that the incidents of suicide and fratricide coming to public knowledge are just the tip of the iceberg of the deeper, darker problem that haunts most CAPFs, adding that even the Indian military is not immune to the problems of mental health.
Citing data from the National Office of Criminal Records, the petitioners said that as many as 439 CAPF staff members committed suicide between 2014 and 2019, when 220 CAPF staff members died on duty, pointing to a grim situation that required urgent attention.
Referring to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Rs 1,053 crore Modernization Plan-III, the petitioners said that CAPF has not been able to fully spend its budget allocation of Rs 619.63 crore (2018-20). They said the money should be used for the welfare of armed police personnel and the hiring of trained psychiatrists to ensure that all soldiers and CAPF personnel are physically and mentally fit.
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