An embarrassed Chhattisgarh government Thursday ordered a magisterial inquiry after blood-stained uniforms and boots of slain paramilitary personnel were found in a garbage dump at a government hospital. The opposition Congress demanded Chief Minister Raman Singh's resignation and also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.
The central government conveyed its displeasure over the incident, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking Raman Singh to investigate the dumping of the uniforms and boots of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers who were killed by Maoists in an ambush Monday.
"Spoke to Chhattisgarh CM @drramansingh regarding the insult of CRPF martyrs's uniforms and asked him to institute an inquiry into this incident," Rajnath Singh said in a tweet.
"I have asked the Chhattisgarh CM to fix the responsibility in this case and punish those involved in insulting the uniform of the deceased CRPF men," he added.
The incident came as a major embarrassment for the Raman Singh government which is already under opposition fire for repeated Maoist attacks on the security forces in the state.
Congress activists in Chhattisgarh collected the uniforms and boots from the garbage dump and took them to its state headquarters in Raipur where the party offered floral tributes before handing them over to the CRPF authorities.
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CRPF spokesperson B.C. Khanduri said: "A DIG level departmental inquiry will be done by the CRPF to probe the dumping of uniforms of our martyrs."
"There are several agencies, including hospital, police and the CRPF... Action will be taken if any of these agencies is found guilty," Khanduri told IANS.
Khanduri, however, said the hospital authorities might be guilty as the bodies of the killed troopers were kept there.
The CRPF official did not rule out the responsibility of police as they were investigating the case.
"Without taking permission from local police, no one can handle the belongings of the slain troopers," Khanduri said.
He also suspected the role of a CRPF official who was deputed at the hospital where the bodies were kept.
Maoists Monday gunned down 14 CRPF troopers engaged in an operation to flush out the rebels from a thickly forested area in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
The Chhattigarh government ordered a probe after the issue created an outrage and Rajnath Singh telephoned Raman Singh.
A state government statement said the chief minister took serious note of the uniforms and boots found in the garbage at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Government Hospital premises in Raipur Wednesday and ordered a magisterial probe.
Raipur Sub-divisional Magistrate Suresh Kumar Agrawal has been asked to conduct the probe and submit his report within 15 days.
The probe will focus on three aspects -- the procedure of disposing of uniforms and other belongings of killed security personnel, how thrse were disposed of, and who were guilty of the incident.
Congress national spokerperson Shobha Oza lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the incident.
Oza said that while the uniforms of martyrs were found in a garbage dump, dogs were seen in the hospital premises feeding on flesh dumped after post-mortem examinations.
"The state government orders an inquiry. Nothing comes out of it. We condemn the incident in the strongest of words. The chief minister should resign," Oza told IANS.
The Congress leader said Modi has been talking about keeping up pride of soldiers. "What is his moral responsibility today?" she said.
The incident took place even as the Chhattisgarh government continues to face flak over the death of 13 women in botched up sterilisation surgeries in Bilaspur last month.