CRPF informs Union home ministry about reviewing Anti-Naxal Tactics after Latehar

NEW DELHI: CRPF has told the home ministry that it was reviewing its tactics for Latehar-like operations in future. CRPF has told the Union home ministry that it will instruct its men to not take undue risks during operations in ‘liberated zones’ held by the Maoists.

CRPF has also informed the ministry that it will sensitise its men that they “need to be patient” and not over-confident while attempting strikes to reclaim such areas from Maoists’ grip. A government source said a CRPF assistant commandant, who authorised the operation in Latehar, had seemingly acted over-enthusiastically in going ahead with the strike though he had no specific instructions to launch an operation.

The CRPF top brass had apparently only desired for the location of a senior Maoist Central Committee member, Arvindji, to be ascertained as the force suspected him to be hiding in the jungles of Latehar for almost a month. These jungles, on the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border are under Maoist control and they conducted an ambush to hit CRPF jawans, who attempted to climb a hill in pursuit of the Maoist leader.

Nine CRPF men, a state policeman and four civilians died in the operation, which also saw Maoists inserting pressure bombs in the bodies of two CRPF men. For renewed operation tactics in the area, CRPF will now replace existing security-men with fresh forces from January 16, CRPF informed the home ministry. The new lot will be suitably sensitised before undertaking operations in Latehar, a source said.

There will be some augmentation of forces as well. “The present lot of forces in CRPF are being called back and will be redeployed,” a home ministry official said, though claiming that at least eight Naxals were killed in the operation though no bodies were recovered.

The Union home ministry also sent an advisory to all Maoist-infested states on January 10, alerting them ahead of the Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign conducted by the extremists in which they target security forces patrol parties and their camps.

Maoists are expected to kick off this campaign in February, as per intelligence reports with the Centre.

The home ministry is also of the view that the liberated zones held on by Naxals for decades in Latehar in Jharkhand and Sukma District in Chhattisgarh will involve long drawn operations to reclaim them as Maoists have entrenched themselves there and are desperate to hold on to these tactically favourable positions.