Faulty deployment may be cause
Faulty deployment of the CRPF by the Chhattisgarh government may have resulted in the Maoist attack in Narayanpur district, killing 27 CRPF personnel. The Centre has asked the Chhattisgarh government and other Naxal-infested states to revisit the existing deployments of paramilitary forces, in view of the “operational and developmental objectives’’ outlined during the ongoing anti-Naxal offensive.
Questioning the deployment of a large number of CRPF personnel in Naxal-infested districts in Chhattisgarh, home minister P. Chidambaram said that it is known that Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar and Narayanpur are the most difficult areas.
“If they (CRPF ) are deployed in the extremely vulnerable areas, they will come under attack,” he said. The home minister said that deployment of paramilitary forces is decided by the state government.
Mr Chidambaram said that he has spoken to Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh to revisit the existing deployment of paramilitary forces in the state. “These deployments were made in 2007-2008 by the state government at a time when state police forces were perhaps extremely inadequate. So we are asking them to revisit each deployment if they have operational or developmental objectives in 2010. This needs to be reviewed to ensure they are not exposed to attacks,” Mr Chidambaram said while speaking at his ministry’s monthly press conference. “We need to close down some camps of Central forces and open others,” he said. Mr Chidambaram expressed hope that the Chhattisgarh chief minister will hold discussions with the Central paramilitary forces on the issue. As of now, there are 14 battalions of CRPF in the state, besides BSF and ITBP.
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