Red tape on insurance policy leaves State red-faced

Senior police officials believed life cover was not needed due to dip in violence in insurgency

A group insurance cover for 15 commandos killed in a naxal attack in Gadchiroli had lapsed following adverse remarks by senior police officials who believed such a policy was unnecessary after a perceived dip in red insurgency. The policy cover offered by Oriental Insurance Company, Pune, fell through after offices of the Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra, accepted an adverse report by an Inspector General (IG)-rank officer in the Administrative Department, DGP.

The Hindu had reported on Wednesday that the Maharashtra Police had failed to renew the group insurance policy offered under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) fund until last year. The State Director General (DG) Police S.K. Jaiswal has also reprimanded the administrative department after it lost the renewal file in the back-and-forth process, resulting in the embarrassing situation.

As per the State directives, the total compensation for every martyred jawan in the red zone adds up to about ₹1,08,50,000. This includes ₹25 lakh as ex-gratia payment, ₹25 lakh from the Central Government, ₹20 lakh from two State government policies for which premium is deducted from their salaries, between ₹22 lakh to ₹30 lakh in lieu of a

sadnika (house unit), and ₹50,000 from police welfare fund, senior officials said.

But with the OIC policy cover not available, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued orders to provide the money as an extra grant, to be provided on an immediate basis from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. “This is proof of how beauracratic red tape could stop even the relief meant for the jawans who made the supreme sacrifice in conflict zones. The least our senior officers could have done was to release the file instead of losing it in process,” said an official.

The Maoist insurgents had blown up an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) killing 15 jawans and one civilian earlier this month when a Quick Response Team (QRT) was on its way to provide reinforcements to the police station in Kurkheda taluka, a day after naxals had torched 36 vehicles meant to assist road construction work in the Dadpur village.