The Centre has accepted a proposal to train 3,500 Chhattisgarh Police personnel in jungle warfare tactics and undertaking anti-Naxal operations at the training facilities of central paramilitary forces.
The task to train and motivate these men has been entrusted by the Union Home Ministry to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which will train five separate batches of 700 state police personnel each at its recruit/auxillary training centres in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, officials said.
The first batch is expected by next month end. This is probably the first time that the central paramilitary force will train such a large number of police personnel hailing from a single state.
The CRPF, according to sources, has been assigned the task as it is also the mainstay for conducting anti-Naxal operations in various Maoist violence-hit states.
The decision to train these policemen by the central forces was taken recently as Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh has posed a big challenge for security forces operating in the state and the local police administration does not have large training facilities and infrastructure to train its personnel.
The state policemen will be given a 60-week training in jungle warfare techniques, commando tactics, unarmed combat, weapon firing and gathering of local intelligence.
It is also planned, sources said, that the Chhattisgarh policemen will also be given a stint to train with the elite CoBRA battalion of the force which has been raised for specific tasks of conducting counter-Naxal operations.
The top brass of Chhattisgarh Police had recently met CRPF commanders after the state government got in touch with the Union Home Ministry in this regard.
