CRPF probing Rahul Gandhi-shared video claiming troops travelling in non-bullet proof van

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Saturday said it is looking into the "authenticity" of a video, posted by former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Twitter, in which some troops allege that they are being made to move for operational duties in a non-bullet proof vehicle.

'Authenticity of the video is being probed'

"CRPF has adequate protective vehicles to meet varied operational requirements," force spokesperson Deputy Inspector General Moses Dhinakaran said in a statement. "The authenticity of the video is being probed into by CRPF," the statement said.

The about 3.25 lakh personnel-strong CRPF is the lead internal security force of the country and is deployed extensively for conducting anti-Naxal operations in various states.

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday morning attacked the government over the provision of non-bullet proof vehicles for soldiers while spending Rs 8,400 crore to procure aircraft for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Is this justice?" he asked on Twitter along with a video of a purported conversation among soldiers being transported in non-bullet proof vehicles.

'Is this justice?'

"Our jawans are being sent in non-bullet proof trucks to get martyred and an Rs 8,400 crore aircraft is brought for the PM! Is this justice," he said in a tweet in Hindi. 

The video shows a conversation between soldiers objecting to their transportation in a non-bullet proof vehicle, while their seniors were using bullet-proof vehicles. They also complained that by doing so their lives were being compromised and the authorities were playing with their and their families' lives.

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Earlier, sources told Republic that the process of procuring these VVIP aircraft began around a decade ago under the UPA Government. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, the source said that perhaps like most other initiatives of the UPA government, "Rahul Gandhi wants to disown this procurement too?" Rahul Gandhi is entitled to his disregard for the UPA government, but not entitled to his own facts, they added. 

Sources said that the two aircraft are not the Prime Minister's aircraft as Gandhi dubbed them and but they will be used for other VVIPs. These aircraft belong to the Indian Air Force and not the Prime Minister, the sources said. The Modi government has only brought that process to its logical conclusion, they added.

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(With agency inputs)