New Delhi, July 16
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is not inclined to disband the Salwa Judum against which the Supreme Court has passed strictures nor to disarm the Special Police Officers who constitute Salwa Judum.

Raman Singh held here detailed discussions with the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on the review petition he plans to file against the Supreme Court order.

Speaking to the media here,Raman Singh said, “We will honour the Supreme Court. But we have also to look at the security of the young men,” when asked if he was ready to disband the SPOs.

He disclosed that he has consulted Jaitley and was contemplating filing a review petition against the Supreme Court judgment of July 5. He said it is not just a question of Chhattisgarh. There are some 40,000 to 50,000 special police officers in different parts of the country, including those in Jammu and Kashmir, who have been armed by the village and mohalla defence committees for their respective defence. This judgment would affect all of them.

Showing disinclination to disarm the SPOs and close down the notorious camps opened by the Chhattisgarh government ostensibly to protect the villagers from the Maoists, the Chief Minister said, “There is danger to people’s lives. We have also to consider that. We will take all this into account.”

Ruling out disbanding the SPOs and sending them back to the villages, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said, “The Government is responsible for the safety and security of its people.

We will keep them in the camps.” He denied that underage little boys have been armed by his government which the apex court has taken note of. The Chief Minister said, “Our SPOs are young men. But underage boys cannot be trained.”

Taking cognisance of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a group of NGOs, the Supreme Court declared the deployment of tribal youths as SPOs, Koya commandos, Salwa Judum or by any other name to be illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered their immediate disbandment.

The court had directed the Chhattisgarh government to "cease and desist, forthwith, from using any of its funds in supporting, directly or indirectly the recruitment of SPOs for the purposes of engaging in any form of counter-insurgency activities against Maoist/Naxalite group" and ordered to disarm and disband over 6500 SPOs that the Chhattisgarh state has formed.

The bench said "the appointment of tribal youth as SPOs, who are barely literate, for temporary periods, and armed with firearms, had endangered and will necessarily endanger the human rights of others in society".