Outgoing Bengal Area General Officer Commanding (GOC) Lt Gen A K Choudhary today said extraordinary powers are required to deal with special situations.
Responding to a question on whether the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act should be withdrawn, Gen Choudhary said, "The Army is called in only after all other agencies have failed. The question of extraordinary powers come in here. If the situation was normal, the police could have handled it easily."
However, he stressed on regular monitoring of the situation on the ground and maintenance of strict discipline.
"The special powers can't be done away with, but the situation needs to be reviewed periodically and the Army can be pulled out when things improve on the ground.
"During the deployment, strict discipline has to be maintained and if someone is found intentionally doing wrong, immediate and visible action should to be taken," Gen Choudhary said.
While stating that there was no immediate need of the armed forces in counter-Maoist operations, the General who had also served as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO), said a total pull out of security forces from the areas affected by Maoist insurgency would lead to operational hazards in future.
"The government has to take a call on any pull out, but there are specific ways and techniques with which security forces operate. Once they are asked to pull out, they will have to start from scratch if asked to resume operations."
Commenting on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the outgoing GOC Bengal Area said, "There is no doubt that China has been building-up along the LAC. We have to keep in mind that China has solved problems with all its neighbours, except India.
"We can't sit idle in the middle of this and that is why new formations which are being raised will be stationed at Panagarh," he said.
