Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has sought battalions of Nagaland armed police force personnel, experts in jungle warfare, from the Union Home Ministry to take on Naxals in the State.
“We have asked the Home Ministry to deploy some Naga armed police force personnel in Chhattisgarh. They will be taking up the matter with Nagaland Government,” Singh told PTI here on Monday.
The Naga battalions were deployed in the Bastar region of the State, one of the worst affected by Naxal extremism, and they did a very good job, he said. “Experience shows that Nagaland battalions were very useful in fighting the Naxalites. They are very good at jungle warfare,” said the Chief Minister. Singh said his Government was determined to end the Naxal menace in the State.
“There is no doubt about it. It (Naxalism) will end. The State Government has carried out much development work and the Naxalites are frustrated by it,” he said. Asked about his views on deployment of Army to fight Naxals, Singh expressed his reservation.
“Neither our Constitution nor our conscience would allow deployment of the Army. They are for fighting external enemies. We will take on Naxals. Naxalism will be removed from the state soon,” he said.
Citing the challenges being faced in tackling Naxalism, the Chief Minister said that the Bastar region is bigger in size than Kerala and shares borders with other Maoist violence-affected states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
“Forces took 40 years to catch one Veerappan (dreaded sandalwood smuggler who was killed by security forces in 2004). There are thousands of Veerappans in the state. But we will catch each one of them,” he said.
Addressing a rally in the Naxal hotbed of Dantewada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had advised Maoists on May 9 to abjure violence and take part in ensuring the country’s development.
The state police force also said that the deployment of Naga battalions would prove to be an “asset” in fighting Naxalism. “Nagaland armed police force personnel are well trained in jungle warfare. Their deployment here will prove to be an asset in fighting Naxalites,” said SRP Kalluri, Inspector General of Police, Bastar region, who added that the Naga battalions were deployed there between 2006 and 2008.
“later, they had to go due to pressure from non- governmental organisations. They accused Naga battalions of human rights violations,” said Kalluri, a known name in anti- Naxal operations.
At least 40,000 personnel of the central paramilitary forces are deployed in Chhattisgarh, which has witnessed many Naxal attacks in the recent past with the worst being the 2010 assault that left 76 Central Reserve Police Force personnel dead.