Anti-Naxal opt: Govt to hire over 2,000 ex-Army men for CRPF

New Delhi: The Union Government has decided to recruit over 2,000 ex-Army men, specialised in jungle warfare tactics and counter-IED operations, to impart cutting-edge training to CRPF personnel fighting Naxalites in various states of the country.

This is the second time that the country`s largest paramilitary force is recruiting these big number of ex-servicemen for operational roles after the first such exercise was done in 2011. The total vacancies advertised by the Central Reserve Police Force, mainstay for anti-war operations in the country, are for 2,037 personnel who have retired as Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) The perks and salaries, for this task, are also attractive as JCOs can earn unto 55,000 per month while NCOs can draw upto Rs 35,000 per month. These servicemen, according to eligibility norms, will be drawn from Army regiments and Corps like infantry, armoured, artillery, bomb disposal and engineering Corps for the purpose. In order to ensure that the CRPF personnel get the best training, the government has made it mandatory for these ex-servicemen to be trained in specialised courses like `Ghana` commando training, weapons, IED and bomb disposal, dog handling, Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare (CIJW). "These officers will train the young officers and personnel of the force and give them the value knowledge that will be vital for them when they are posted in hard task oriented areas like ones in the Left Wing Extremism theatre," a senior official said. The ex-Army personnel will have to serve in Naxal violence hit areas and they will be taken on contract for a period ranging between 3-5 years. CRPF has deployed more than 85,000 personnel for anti-Naxal operations in the country. PTI