The role of the Army in the anti-Naxal operations is expected to be discussed during the upcoming meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which will meet later this week.
The government is looking into various options including involving the Army personnel in surgical strikes once specific intelligence information is recieved by the security agencies during the ongoing anti-Naxal operations. Sources said the home ministry is understood to have put forward a whole gamut of demands with respect to anti-Naxal operations. However, ministry sources said that the time may not be ripe to deploy the army right now and a limited role could be decided for the Army personnel, especially the Rashtriya Rifles. The ministry has sought four helicopters from the Indian Air Force and is in the process of purchasing five more, sources said. The ministry is looking into an increased role of helicopters in evacuation, aid and deployment of troops. The ministry is also keen to deploy additional central security personnel , faced with a shortage of nearly three and a half lakh police personnel in states.
The CCS is expected to discuss ways to deal with the huge shortage of state police personnel, an official said. Official sources said the CCS would meet on June 10 to review the anti-Naxal operations
Meanwhile, another issue to be discussed by the Cabinet is to free the Assam Rifles of its duties at the Indo-Burma border and give the responsibility of guarding that border to the BSF. The move will be part of the strategy of ‘’one border one force’’ which is being discussed by the Army and the home ministry. Such units of the Assam Rifles may be used to tackle counter-insurgency in the Northeast, the sources said. The BSF is currently responsible for guarding the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangla border, with some battalions also deployed in Maoist-hit areas in central and eastern India and anti-insurgency operations in the Northeast.