New Delhi: Security forces are likely to evolve Standard Operating Procedures soon for carrying out operations against Naxals if civilians are spotted in between to avoid "collateral" damage.
The issue was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting Union Home Secretary RK Singh had with top brass of the CRPF, days after security forces were accused of killing civilians along with Maoists during an operation in Chhattisgarh`s Bijapur area.
A clear directive is expected to be issued to the security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations to abandon the exercise if civilians are being taken by Naxals as human shield during day time, CRPF sources said.
Besides, if any operation is conducted during night, forces will also be asked to take enough light to illuminate the area to figure out whether the Maoists are trying to take civilians along with them.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh government is expected to identify whether any innocent villager was killed in last week`s incident, where 19 people including senior Naxal cadres died in the gunfight, and give compensation.
Claiming that the encounter was "bona fide", CRPF sources said forensic report has suggested that the forces were indeed attacked by adversaries which buttressed the paramilitary force`s assertion that they were forced to retaliate upon attacked.
PTI
