SPOs not paid since two months

RANCHI: Special police officers (SPOs), who are either former Maoists or unemployed youths from villages and who were recruited for providing information about the Red rebels or assisting the anti-Naxalite operation, are not being paid any honorarium for the past two months.
Some of the SPOs in the state have not got any honorarium amounting to Rs 3,000 since June, while some have not received since July for which they are knocking the doors of senior police officers.
The controversial appointment of SPOs in conflict zones is based on the provisions under Section 17 of the Police Act enacted in 1861. A total of 3,000 SPOs were appointed in the state, of them 300 in Ranchi, to contain Naxalism.
"Police officers said payments would be released soon and also asked us to focus on our work, but we are losing patience now," said Sumit Munda (name changed) working in the Naxalite-hit Tamar police station.
Several of the SPOs, who have till now walked along the security forces and successfully carried out anti-Naxalite operations and helped police nab wanted Maoists, have now started doubting intentions of police.
These SPOs in many sensitive areas sleep in CRPF and police camps due to security reasons. "One can imagine what will happen if information regarding police camps are given to the rebels," said SPO Moti Lohra working in Khunti.
Many SPOs claimed that they have offers from the rebels and have been promised a remuneration of Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000. Senior police officers claim the state used to pay the existing 3,000 SPOs from security-related expenditure (SRE) central fund, which was stopped by the Union government after the Supreme Court order of July 5. On July 5, the apex court banned SPOs in Chattishgarh and directed the central government to stop funding recruitment of SPOs for counter-insurgency operations.
DGP G S Rath admitted that payment had been stopped to the SPOs as the central government had stopped giving funds under the SRE for the time being. "Only after funds are released, payment to the SPOs can be made," said Rath.
Rath, however, said SPOs were not armed in the state and they were not directly engaged in any kind of anti-Naxalite operation or any intelligence gathering. "These SPOs were merely engaged with the police under the initiative to provide them some employment opportunity," said Rath.