In the wake of two deadly attacks on the paramilitary by Naxals in Sukma in a span of less than two months, the Centre has shifted the strategic anti-Naxal operations command headquarters of Central zone of the CRPF from Kolkata to Raipur for a quicker response to such exigencies. The move also comes ahead of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with Chief Ministers of 10 Naxal-affected States on Monday to brainstorm on “re-calibrating” the strategies.
“The idea is to base the Naxal command headquarters where the exact fight and the lWE challenge is. The Home Ministry felt that having this strategic office, headed by an ADG rank officer, in far off Kolkata was not serving the purpose of strategising quick, intelligence-based and coordinated offensives against Naxals right where the guerrillas are posing the biggest threat to internal security of the country,” a senior officer said, detailing the reasons for shifting the command HQ to Raipur.
Altogether 37 CRPF personnel have been killed by Naxalites in the worst-hit Chhattisgarh in less than two months. The April 24 assault on a CRPF road opening party that claimed lives of 25 personnel was the deadliest since the April 2010 attack in Dantewada, also in Chhattisgarh, in which 76 personnel were slain.
The move comes roughly seven years after the command HQ was shifted from Raipur to Kolkata due to logistical and connectivity issues. Officials said the newly appointed CRPF Director General Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar has been asked to ensure that the command begins functioning from Raipur before the high-level meeting of left Wing Extremism (lWE)-hit States here on Monday.
The Home Minister-chaired meet would discuss ways to revamp intelligence gathering mechanism, take a close look at ongoing operations against Naxalites, identify problem areas and devise ways to minimise casualties among the security forces, a Home Ministry official said.
Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have been invited to the meeting which would be chaired by Singh. District magistrates and superintendents of police of 35 worst-hit districts, besides heads of paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies will also attend the meeting.
The main agenda will be the issue of re-calibrating the anti-Naxal strategy to make it more effective, and to minimise casualties, the official said.
The home minister has asked security officials to look for out-of-the box solutions to the problem of successive attacks by Naxalites on security personnel providing protection for road repair or development work in the troubled areas.
Road construction and other development activities in the affected areas will also be discussed. Ways to cut down on time spent on laying roads are also likely to be discussed. Road opening parties of central paramilitary forces have repeatedly come under savage assault by Naxalites in the past.
Currently 90 per cent of Maoist activity is limited to 35 districts, though the ultra- left guerrillas have pockets of influence in 68 districts in 10 States.