The Central Reserve Police Force is purchasing more than a dozen defence manufactured Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a number of mine protected troop carriers to aid and guide ground patrols of the force conducting anti-Naxal operations.
The CRPF is also looking at the second option of inducting a new company (around 125 men) into the 62nd battalion to be deployed in the dense jungles of Chhattisgarh to undertake anti-Naxal operations.
The deadly Maoist ambush, claiming the lives of 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, was planned and supervised by local Naxal leaders who were reportedly camping in south Bastar for past few days, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, used by United States' forces to track down Taliban militants, successfully flew over the dense forests of Bastar in Chhattisgarh in the first trial run for anti-Naxal operations.
A first-of-its kind 'battle field hospital' is being set up deep inside the Naxal hotbed of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh which will provide immediate first aid to injured Central Reserve Police Force and other security forces officials undertaking anti-Maoist operations.
When asked for a confirmation, BSF Director General M L Kumawat said: "The BSF has earlier played a leading role in anti-Naxal operations. We may go to Naxal-hit areas whenever ordered."
"I am sure that the attempts to stall development and throttle democracy at gunpoint will not be successful ever," the home minister said at the meeting, being held two weeks after 25 paramilitary personnel were killed by a band of Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik on Wednesday expressed his unwillingness to use the air force in ongoing anti-Naxal operations, saying the situation has not worsened so much merit military action.
Security experts say there has been complacency in handling the Naxal issue since the number of attacks has gone down over the years. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
In a separate incident, a commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites went off in the district, police said.
Over 870 freshly trained recruits today joined the Central Reserve Police Force and a majority of them will be deployed for anti-Naxal operations in various Maoist-affected states.
Police earlier claimed the three "Naxalites" were killed on a forested hill between Bhomra-Hurtarai villages under Koyalibeda police station limits on Sunday morning in an encounter with security personnel during an anti-Naxal operation.
Combat units of the Chhattisgarh police's District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Bastar Fighters were mobilised from different directions in the area on February 7, the official said.
The CRPF and local police on anti-Naxal operations perform a thankless job but a few basic counter-insurgency measures could have prevented the deadly Dantewada attack, writes B Raman.
Officials said while two commandos, identified as constables Linju N and Fateh Singh had succumbed to their bullet injuries on Thursday, their collegaue Lakshman Singh died on Friday.
A Pakistani intruder was also killed in the exchange of fire, they added.
The STF, which will be similar to the 'Grey Hounds' of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, will be imparted advanced training in commando operations and jungle warfare to take on the Maoist rebels in the dense forests.
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Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday vowed to take "revenge" for Tuesday's Naxal ambush in which 15 security personnel and a civilian were killed in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, saying the attack could be an attempt to disrupt the Lok Sabha polls.
The PMG was announced by the Union home ministry on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, being celebrated on January 26 (Thursday).
The much anticipated full-fledged operation of the special anti-Naxal force -- Cobrain Left-wing extremism-hit states is set to start soon.
Three Naxals, including two women, were on Saturday gunned down by security forces at two different places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division, taking the total number of ultras killed in separate gun-battles in the region this month to 21.
A Greyhounds jawan sustained injuries, following which he was airlifted to Warangal and admitted to a hospital.
The local intelligence wing had suggested not to carry out large anti-Naxal operations in south Bastar forests, where the ultras recently killed 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, citing geographical complications and strong Maoist 'Jantana Sarkar' network, a senior police official said.
The driver of a Scorpio that was right behind the vehicle targeted by Naxalites with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday said he won't be able to forget the day long as he lives.
As many as 14 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Friday, a senior police official said. However, ANI has put the toll at 30.
Eight Naxalites and a jawan of the Special Task Force (STF) were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Saturday, police said.
The majority of CoBRA teams, whose commandos are expected to have tough mental and physical attributes, are deployed in various Maoist violence affected states while a few are based in the northeastern states for undertaking counter-insurgency operations.
A sub-inspector of the Andhra Pradesh's counter-Maoist force was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award of the country, as India celebrated its 65th Republic Day on Sunday.
This is one of the biggest casualties suffered by the elite COBRA unit that undertakes special jungle warfare ops.
The paramilitary had cut down the use of these vehicles for anti-Naxal operations drastically to a 'bare minimum' after they were targeted in improvised explosive device blasts in the Left Wing Extremism-hit areas.
A Station House Officer and four police jawans were on Friday killed and three others injured, one of them critically, in a Naxal ambush in Maoist-hit Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, police said.
The Central Reserve Police Force top boss on Thursday said he has asked his troops deployed in anti-Naxal operations to even go to the extent of "violating" the Standard Operating Procedures if such a diversion in rules is required for operational efficiency and safety of the men.
Three Naxals were killed on Tuesday in a gun-battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the operation against Naxals in Chhattisgarh, in which 22 security personnel were killed, was 'incompetently' executed and 'poorly designed'.
Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said.
Three youths from Pune, who were allegedly abducted by Naxals while they were on a bicycle rally to spread the message of peace, have been released by the rebels in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday batted for continuing effective and "intelligence-based" operations in Naxal-hit states as he announced over 800 fresh posts for the crucial snoop unit of Border Security Force.
A cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, one SLR (self-loading rifle), one INSAS rifle, one LMG rifle and one .303 rifle were also recovered from the encounter spot.
550 live cartridges, an INSAS assault rifle, two other rifles and three self-loading rifle magazines were seized along with a huge quantity of explosives and detonators.
