New Delhi: After training them for eight months in intensive intelligence gathering, CRPF has begun deploying its specially-trained personnel in Naxal-hit areas and other theatres of operation to gather information at the
grass-root level.
Official sources said the trained batches of the CRPF
officers and jawans have been deputed in various theatres of
conflict including in Maoist-affected areas.
The six battalions of the specialised anti-Naxal force
of the CRPF - Special Action Force - already have an in-built
intelligence unit comprising about 30-40 men, which are
functioning in various states including West Bengal,
Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.
The government had on September 1, 2009 sanctioned
1,248 posts for the intelligence wing of the CRPF.
The men have been trained by various Central security
agencies and work in close coordination with the state police
and other intelligence organisations.
"The men go through a rigorous training process where
they are taught all traditional and modern intelligence
gathering mechanism," a source said.
CRPF sources say that some of the recent achievements
against the Naxals have been a result of precise intelligence
regarding the Maoist camps and movements.
The intelligence wing is been established on the lines
of the G-Branch of the BSF.
A need for a separate intelligence wing was felt after
the force got involved in direct combat with extremists and
Naxals in various part of the country.
PTI
