Unable to carry out sustained operations against the Naxals, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed in all states affected by leftist extremism has raised a Special Operations Group within itself.The specialise unit, according to J K Sinha, DG, CRPF, has been trained both by the Army and at the counter insurgency training school in Silchar. The strength of the Special Operations Group is 11 companies-strong and it is proposed to deploy a company each in the Naxal-affected states. They will not be deployed for normal security duties but would exclusively carry out anti-Naxal operations on the basis of specific information made available by the local police and central intelligence agencies. At present there are 23 battalions of CRPF deployed in 13 Naxal-affected states.Sinha said normal forces are unable to carry out sustained operations because of logistic problems and training. ‘‘They are unable to live off the ground or pursue the target for a long time inside forests or on in inhospitable terrain. Normal CRPF or even the local police need to return to their base within a day or two. Neither force has the wherewithal to carry out drawnout pursuits,’’ he said. The special operations group will come in handy in this respect.The other reason for creating the special operations group within the CRPF is the success of the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh. With the unit used exclusively for operations against the Naxalites, the Andhra Police have been able to eliminate some of their top-ranking leaders and considerably reverse the success of the radicals. The CRPF new squad will operate on principles similar to those of the Greyhounds.The Special Operations Group will be equipped with night-vision devices and weapons like AK-47s. Their kit will also include typical army issue like canteen and dry rations to sustain them for over a week from the base.According to Sinha, the group will operate with the Interstate Joint Task Force formed to carry out operations across state jurisdictions. ‘‘We have proposed that the Special Operations Group be attached to the Joint Task Force for better results,’’ he said.While the Centre maintains that it can only assist states in fighting the Naxals, help states modernise their police and initiate development processes, Naxal violence has claimed a high toll of lives.
