Raipur: The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs) which were roped in by security forces to snoop on
Naxals in the aftermath of the Dantewada ambush which left 76
policemen dead a year ago have proved to be a dud, unable to
track down the extremists who hide in the thick jungles.
Various security agencies have been trying different
variants of UAVs over naxal affected areas, dotted by thick
foliage, to track the movement of the ultras but have failed
to get the desired intelligence.
"After the April six ambush in Chhattisgarh last year,
where 75 CRPF personnel and a state policeman were killed,
various security agencies flew variants of UAVs at Kanker and
some other places in the state. But they (UAVs) have proved to
be a dud till now," a senior official involved in the exercise
said.
The UAVs were expected to provide the security forces
with images and signals on movement of naxals and a good
knowledge of the terrain depicting water bodies and populated
areas but have not been able to penetrate the forest cover.
With intelligence gathering being a difficult job in
naxal affected areas, the aim to fly UAVs was to obtain help
in gathering advanced reconnaissance and situational awareness
functions, which are critical for use by security personnel
while planning their operations.
However, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),
which is the main central paramilitary with almost 65
battalions (65000 personnel) deployed in anti-naxal
operations, has now begun to use satellite imagery of these
areas at certain filed locations and at the operations control
room at its headquarters in Delhi, the official said.
Sources said that the central security agencies are
also taking help from army experts in the UAV methodology.
The Centre has deployed ITBP and BSF apart from the
CRPF for anti-naxal operations in thee affected states along
with the state police forces and other special units.
PTI
