Fratricide in central forces worrying

The occurrence of two back-to-back cases of fratricide in the Border Security Force (BSF) has caused concern over the state of mental health of members of the armed forces. A jawan killed four of his colleagues in a BSF camp in Amritsar a few days ago. Another jawan shot a colleague to death and killed himself in West Bengal’s Murshidabad the next day. Such incidents have occurred with some regularity. The government told Parliament that 25 incidents of fratricide took place in the central armed police forces (CAPF) between 2019 and 2021. More such incidents happened in the CRPF, followed by the BSF. The government has said it has taken steps to address the problem, but the incidents keep occurring. A taskforce was constituted last year to study the cases of suicide and fratricide in the forces. It is yet to submit a report.

The reasons for such incidents are known and recommendations have been made in the past to address them. Stress in professional life and the spill-over of stress from personal life are the main reasons for the personnel to lose control over themselves and resort to violence against themselves and others. Suicide and fratricide are, in fact, two sides of the same coin, though they need to be handled differently. Problems at the workplace, where discipline is key, act on the jawans. Difficulties in getting leave, high workload, working in the same station for long periods are some problems. Many are unable to spend time with their family when they need it. There may be unhappiness over pay and allowances. Handling of law and order and insurgency situations, where there is a threat to life, upsets thinking and emotional patterns and leads to negative and destructive behaviour. Attempts have been made to address these issues, but the problems remain. There is a focus on improving relations between officers and personnel and providing better living conditions. Stress management, counselling and yoga have also been introduced.

Most CAPFs are undermanned and understaffed. The BSF has over 27,000 vacant posts, the CRPF about 25,000. The vacancies should be filled so that the personnel are not overworked. Frequent change of officers, including commanders, affect personal relationships. The leadership should address the common reasons for stress and unhappiness with care and understanding. Those who are vulnerable to personal stress should be identified early and individual grievances should be removed. The grievance redressal mechanisms in all units should be strengthened. The mental and physical wellbeing of the members of the uniformed forces is important not just for themselves but for the nation as such.

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