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Ranch: The Jharkhand government shelled out Rs350 million (Dh30.3m) on a helicopter to be used during anti-Maoist operations, but policemen say it is ferrying ministers instead.
An indigenously manufactured Dhruv helicopter was purchased last year by the government from the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for surveillance and rescue operations.
The chopper remained grounded for more than four months for two reasons. First, the state government made a delayed payment to HAL and, second, there was no trained pilot to fly it. It finally began operations early this year after both problems were addressed.
But, according to police sources, it has since logged 160 hours in just two months. Chief Minister Madhu Koda and his ministers use it to visit different parts of the state.
"We hardly get the chopper for anti-Maoist operations. When we plan to launch an airborne operation, we are informed that it is being used by ministers," said a senior police official.
The helicopter, in fact, remained unavailable for an emergency rescue when two security personnel in Hazaribagh district were injured in a gun battle with Maoists on Sunday. Police officials who tried to get their injured colleagues airlifted to hospital were told that the helicopter had developed a technical snag and was at the hangar for maintenance. Both the security personnel died.
"We had requested for the helicopter so that the injured security personnel could be rescued. We were informed that the Dhruv had developed a technical snag," said Ajay Kumar Singh, deputy inspector general of police, Hazaribagh range.
Koda last week issued an advisory to his cabinet colleagues to use a vehicle instead of the helicopter to travel inside the state.
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