Redeploy forces in Naxal-hit areas, asks Centre
New Delhi: A day after the Naxals ambushed and killed 27 CRPF jawans in Naryanpur, the Union Home ministry on Wednesday ruled out any intelligence failure in Chattisgarh and asked the state government to rethink its force deployment.
But still there are no concrete answers on what went wrong and just why the paramilitary force continues to suffer high casualties in the Naxal-hit state. The Home Minister P Chidambaram went to the extent of asking for redeployment of the security forces in dealing with the Naxals. But is the CRPF the most equipped force to deal with the problem? The killing of the 27 jawans on Tuesday afternoon may go as just a number in government record. But the truth of what really happened deep in the jungles of Narayanpur is still sinking in.
At around 3.30 pm on Tuesday, a group of 60 CRPF personnel were returning to their base camp after escorting a fellow company. At a spot where they were on a flat terrain, the Maoists, who had positioned themselves on a hillock, attacked them.
Unlike previous instances, the Maoists did not use landmines to target the security forces. It was a clear case of ambush with the Maoists opening fire and the CRPF again suffering casualties.
Chidambram said, "I Hope the CM of Chattisgarh will use this opportunity to interact with all other agencies to work out redeployment of forces."
The impact of the strikes has been such that the government is now being forced to rethink its strategy. CNN IBN has learnt that the government is asking for redeployment of forces as per operational plan or development plan offered by the state.
There are also questions being raised about the lack of coordination between the CRPF and local police in Chattisgarh. Repeated high casualties from the CRPF side is also leading authorities to believe that the CRPF is not following the standard operating procedures.
There is also talk of bringing in jungle forces from the North East.
Once again, questions are being posed about the effectiveness of the CRPF. In Kashmir, it's been dubbed as a force which is too aggressive, in Chattisgarh it's being described as an outfit which is not equipped to deal with the Maoist problem.
E Ram Mohan, retired CRPF DG, says, "The CRPF is a good law and order maintaining force but it still has a long way to go in tackling jungle warfare."
In the past two months, this is the third such big strike carried out by the Naxals in the state. In the entire red corridor spread from West Bengal to Jharkhand to Chattisgarh, a total of 119 CRPF men have been killed by the Naxals in 2010 itself.
Major Naxal attacks in 2010
Feb 15: 24 police killed in West Midnapore, West Bengal
Apr 4: 11 killed and 10 injured in Koraput, Orissa
April 6: 76 jawans killed in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh
May 8: 8 CRPF jawans killed in Chhattisgarh
May 17: 15 SPOs killed in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh
While there is still no talk of raising a separate force to deal with the Naxals, what's becoming quite clear is that the battle against them is going to be a long one.
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