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4 more India Reserve battalions for Chhattisgarh

Vinay Kumar

All Central help to fight naxalite violence: Patil

NEW DELHI: Giving a boost to Chhattisgarh’s fight against naxal violence, the Centre has sanctioned four more India Reserve battalions to be raised by the State this year itself. It is already raising four IR battalions.

Within days of announcing the setting up of a Unified Command, headed by Chief Minister Raman Singh, the Union Home Ministry placed five more battalions of Central paramilitary forces at the disposal of the State. It already has 13 battalions of Central forces engaged in anti-naxal operations.

Unified Command

It is for the first time a “Unified Command,” on the lines of the one in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, was set up in a State hit by naxal violence. The only difference is that Jammu and Kashmir and Assam have army units engaged in fighting militancy.

While on a visit to Chhattisgarh on February 14, Home Minister Shivraj Patil promised every possible help from the Centre to fight naxal violence. On its demand for armoured personnel vehicles, Mr. Patil said he would take up the issue of supplying them soon from the Medak ordnance factory.

Police vacancies

Taking a serious view of the vacancies, about 10,000, in the State police force, the Home Ministry has made it clear that five battalions of Central forces will be made available only till the time all vacancies are filled. While informing North Block that it would take three or four months to fill up all the vacancies, the State government has expressed concern at the lack of proper training facilities and absence of senior police officials to supervise lower ranks.

Sources in the Home Ministry said it agreed to allow the State police recruits to be trained at the facilities of the Central forces. It also permitted posting of senior police officials on deputation to Chhattisgarh.

On the development front, the Home Ministry’s Inter-Ministerial Group has already put the two most naxal violence-affected districts — Dantewada and Bijapur — on the fast track for implementation of schemes.

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