Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh revealed yesterday that the central government is going to provide units of specialized commando force ‘Black Panther’ to Chhattisgarh for combating Maoists in areas like Bastar.
Speaking to media persons after chairing a meeting on left-wing extremism in Chattisgarh’s secretariat in Naya Raipur, Singh said the center is training a high-specialized anti-Naxal force along the lines of Greyhound units and this personnel will be deployed soon.
Greyhounds are central armed police personnel that has been trained to operate in Maoist areas of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Along with Black Panther units, four Indian Reserve Battalions will also be deployed to counter Naxals in Bastar.
The Home Minister said Maoists have been put on a back foot this year because their financial resources for carrying out deadly attacks are depleting drastically. This is the reason why they have been depending only on IED blast-like attacks to target security forces instead of indulging in direct combat.
Rajnath Singh said Maoist-infested areas in India have come down by a large number and the government is rapidly indulging in developmental activities in these areas in order to further reduce the influence of Maoists over local tribals and villagers. He also lauded the co-ordination that is shared by central armed police forces and central intelligence agencies for countering Naxals.