Centre begins tactical moves against Maoists

Escalating Maoist violence has forced the government to order the redeployment of security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in the states to prevent exposing paramilitary forces to the well-armed rebels in their strongholds.

In Chhattisgarh the CRPF and state police have identified locations for redeployment of CRPF, affecting 10 to 12 companies (1,000-1,200 personnel) of the paramilitary force. Redeployment will follow in Orissa and West Bengal. In Jharkhand, deployment of security forces has already been reviewed. Security forces have been told to strictly adhere to a grid pattern to reduce distances of troop posts, increase deployment in some posts, and shut down other posts keeping in view safety and operational requirements, government sources said.

In a clear admission of the military might of the Maoists, a government official said CRPF personnel are being told to employ withdrawal tactics in situations where they feel inadequate fighting huge bands of Maoists. The Naxals use weapons like the AK-47 assault rifle, which has a very high rate of fire, putting Central forces on the back foot. In the Narayanpur attack, 15 CRPF personnel died on the spot when the Maoist ambush began while the rest died battling the well-armed rebels. CRPF personnel are also being told not to venture out of camps unnecessarily. "Emphasis is being laid on basic facilities being made available inside the camps. The forces should move out only for operational needs," an official said.

Inputs from Chhattisgarh reveal that standard operating procedures (SOPs) for deployment in the states have been blatantly violated by state and Central forces. Reports suggest that Central forces were deployed in Narayanpur, Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada and Rajnandgaon districts in Chhattisgarh on the basis of assessments made in 2004 and 2006. Despite a number of attacks, and casualties, in the last few years in Chhattisgarh, SOPs on deployment of Central forces have not been reviewed for many years. "SOP clearly says the deployment plan of the Central forces should be finalised by the concerned state or district authorities in consultation with the force commander of the CPMF deployed for the purpose. The force commander is hardly taken into confidence while finalising deployment plans. Reports suggest that the force commander was not taken into confidence when the deployment of Central forces was extended in Narayanpur," sources said.

According to SOP, the Central paramilitary forces should be accompanied by state police personnel during all their movements, but there was not even a single official of the state police present when the Naxals executed their ambush in Narayanpur on Tuesday, sources said.

Sources added that it is standard operating procedure for Central paramilitary forces not to be deployed for normal law and order duties or static guard duties during long-term deployment in any state. "What is the use of continuous deployment of more than 5,500 Central paramilitary force personnel in Kanker district, and more than 1,000 personnel in Rajnandgaon district of the state? Their deployment must be reviewed immediately," sources said.