'Work fearlessly, I'll take responsibility': CRPF chief to personnel amid pellet gun row

CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh has assured personnel of the country's largest paramilitary force that they should carry out their duties "fearlessly", saying he would assume "responsibility and accountability" for decisions taken in the bona fide discharge of duty.

The remarks came during the CRPF's Grand Investiture Ceremony, days after the force's Rapid Action Force (RAF) faced criticism over its use of pellet guns while dispersing protesters in Delhi during demonstrations over alleged examination paper leaks.

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Addressing personnel, Singh said, "As the Director General of the CRPF, I want to assure each one of you that whether it is an operational battalion or a law-and-order unit, whatever decisions you take and whatever actions you carry out in the bonafide discharge of your duties, I take responsibility for all those decisions and actions."

"Continue to perform your duties fearlessly. Wherever responsibility or accountability needs to be taken, I will take it as the Director General," he said.

The assurance comes amid scrutiny of the RAF's handling of the protests, where pellet guns were used during crowd-control operations, prompting allegations of excessive force.

Earlier this week, Singh had said that the CRPF would undertake a "professional post-event assessment" of the incident. Speaking to ANI, he said such reviews are part of the force's standard operating procedure after every major operation.

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The assessment will examine the circumstances that led to the use of pellet guns, reconstruct the sequence of events and determine whether the action was taken in accordance with established protocols.

The RAF, a specialised unit of the CRPF, is tasked with riot control, crowd management and responding to situations involving civil unrest.

With deployments across the country, the CRPF supports state police forces in maintaining law and order while also undertaking counter-insurgency and anti-Maoist operations. Its Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) specialise in guerrilla and jungle warfare and have been deployed in operations against Left Wing Extremism.

The force has frequently been deployed in sensitive security situations where operational decisions are made under challenging circumstances.

In one such instance, CRPF personnel shot dead 10 suspected Kuki insurgents during an encounter in Manipur's Jiribam district in November 2024 after an attack on a village near the Assam border. While Kuki tribal groups described those killed as "volunteers", police identified them as insurgents.

Speaking at the investiture ceremony, Singh reiterated his support for personnel, saying, "...I want to assure all of you that whether it is our operational battalions or our law and order units, whatever decisions you take and whatever actions you take in the national interest, public interest, and the interest of the force, provided they are in the bona fide discharge of your duty, I take full responsibility for all those decisions and actions. Continue to perform your duties fearlessly. Wherever any responsibility has to be taken, I will take it in full..."