While the Government has no plans to deploy the Army for anti-Naxal operations, the Army is providing training to Central paramilitary forces and police for the last 10 years and has trained more than 79,000 personnel in counter-insurgency.
Besides this, more than 360 jawans and officers of Chhattisgarh Police are trained in bomb disposal, road opening, area domination drill, jungle warfare, intelligence gathering, firing and communications every year for the last five years. These jawans are trained in a batch of 60 in six cycles spread over four weeks.
Giving these details here on Monday, officials said 40 battalions (one battalion has 1,000 men) of Central paramilitary forces including Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the last one decade besides police forces of States engaged in anti-Naxal operations.
They also said 100 officers of Central paramilitary forces including Indian Police Service (IPS) are attached to various infantry units engaged in counter-terrorism duties in various parts of the country.
The attachment-cum-training lasts from four weeks to six months and Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) draws up the schedule and selects the officers for intensive training, officials said. Officers are also exposed to latest techniques and battle drills in the elite jungle warfare school in Warangte, Mizoram.
The Army was also ready to impart training to such specialised schools proposed to be set up by Central paramilitary forces adding the Army will also train the initial batches when the National School of Counter-Insurgency and Warfare comes up in Chhattisgarh.
The IAF is also providing logistical support to ongoing anti-Naxal operations and has deployed six MI-17 helicopters in Chhattisgarh. These helicopters ferry troops to battle zone and evacuate casualties and have come under fire from the Maoists during some sorties.