Government is likely to rope in about 10,000 more BSF personnel to strengthen anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh and Orissa, which have witnessed a spurt in violence. Official sources said five battalions (5,000 personnel) of the BSF would be inducted into the operation for now and another five thousand would be added later. The force already has about 10,000 men taking part in anti-Maoist operations.
The sources said the number of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel is being increased to strengthen operations in Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The BSF had played a crucial role in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, where security forces have been able to inflict heavy damage on the Naxals, they said. A number of Naxals were apprehended there, besides large areas reclaimed from the Maoists' clutches. While CRPF is the main central force fighting the Naxals, the government had inducted both BSF and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel in the operations.
At present, five battalions of the ITBP are involved in anti-Naxal operations. All together, over 60,000 central securitymen are helping the state police in conducting operations in naxal affected areas. Incidentally, former BSF chief E N Ram Mohan, who was appointed by the Union Home Ministry to enquire into the causes and lapses for the April six Dantewada incident in which 76 securitymen lost their lives, had recently hinted that BSF and ITBP were better trained to handle insurgency. "Preferably, in insurgency, BSF and ITBP should be deployed," he had said. PTI
