140 CAPF personnel killed in 2019; 36 ended own life
New Delhi: About 140 personnel in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) lost their lives in suicide and various incidents in 2019, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
According to NCRB as per data received from States and union territories, a total of 104 CAPF personnel lost their lives in various accidents during 2019. The cause-wise analysis of accidental deaths of CAPF personnel revealed that maximum casualties of forces have been reported under deaths due to other causes (59.6 per cent) (62), followed by deaths due to road and railway accidents (23.1percent) (24) out of a total of 104 accidental deaths in CAPFs during 2019.
14 Central Armed Police Forces personnel sacrificed their lives during operation, encounters. Chhattisgarh accounted for 57.1 per cent of total such deaths followed by Jammu and Kashmir 42.9 per cent (6 deaths).
The data further shows that under deaths due to other causes, 25.8 per cent and 16.1 per cent of deaths were reported in Jammu and Kashmir (16) and Rajasthan (10) out of 62 deaths respectively. Rajasthan alone reported 20.8 per cent (5 out of 24 deaths) of total casualties in deaths due to the road or railway Accidents' in the country during 2019.
As on January 1, 2019, the CAPF had an actual strength of 9,23,800 personnel, show NCRB data. As per data, a total of 36 CAPF personnel have died by suicide during 2019. The cause-wise analysis of suicidal deaths of CAPF personnel reveals that 38.9 per cent (14) were due to family problems. A total of three suicides were due to "service-related issues".
Five suicides were reported in Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu (4) and Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Tripura and Delhi (3 each) during 2019. These eight states together accounted for
75.0 per cent (27 out of 36) of total suicides in CAPFs in the country. Out of 5 suicides reported in Rajasthan, 4 were due to family problems.
CRPF Spokesperson Moses Dhinakaran said they have a buddy system in the force where jawans can share issues if he or she has any with their respective buddy (another personnel). He further said that they have taken various steps for bringing down the stress level among jawans which include counselling sessions and yoga classes.
One CISF official said that they regularly conduct counselling sessions in different units and senior officers also remain in regular touch with respective units' commanders to know the status of CISF personnel.
The CAPF refers to seven central security forces of the country under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It consists the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), besides the Assam Rifles (AR) and the National Security Guard (NSG).
