The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to overhaul its anti-Naxal operations in the south Bastar region of Chhattisgarh in the aftermath of one of the biggest attacks on the force in the State on Monday and a fresh offensive is expected to be launched soon.
As many as 25 jawans of the CRPF were slaughtered near Burkapal Village of Sukma district in an ambush by Naxals on April 24 while 12 men of the paramilitary force were killed in an earlier attack near Bheji Village in the same district on March 11.
Two days after Monday’s attack, the Centre is reported to have asked security forces on the ground to go on an “all- out offensive” against the Maoists and “show results in the next few weeks.”
Acting Director-General (DG) of the CRPF, Sudeep lakhtakia said on Thursday that the latest attack has “naturally called for the revision of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)” in the naxal-hit areas.
He said the force has decided to undertake new measures as it will continue to secure the road construction work that helps to bring development to the remote areas of central India.
“We have decided to change the strategy. We have learnt some lessons. While I cannot go into the details, I can tell you that we will undertake re-deployment of our forces and will also enhance the quantity and quality of special counter-insurgency operations,” lakhtakia said, a day after he visited the ambush site in Sukma’s Burkapal.
The force will have to ensure that the enemy does not attempt any surprises on it. “We track and engage them well before,” he said.
So, while half of the personnel will do road construction security and other similar tasks, the other half will do special counter-insurgency operations, the acting DG said.
He said the new action plan of
the force will be to effectively dominate the area.