Gaya, Jan. 18: Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) authorities today distributed certificates among 75 youths who completed a three-month combat training programme as part of the paramilitary force’s civil action agenda.

The youths are from various Maoist-hit villages in districts such as Gaya, Nawada, Arwal and Patna and are not part of any CRPF company. They received the certificates at a convocation ceremony held on the campus of the 159Bn of CRPF.

This is the third batch of youths who received training in Gaya from CRPF. Earlier, 28 youths had received a similar training from April to June, while 30 girls were trained between August and October last year by CRPF in association with voluntary organisations such as the Jan Jagran Sansthan and the Hyderabad-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

CRPF additional director-general (arms and works) P.M. Nair distributed the certificates among the 75 youths. He said CRPF officials and jawans had launched such drives in all 15 states where the paramilitary force has been deployed to combat the Maoists.

As part of the CRPF initiative, efforts are being made to enable the youths, who had once chosen to tread some wrong paths, return to the mainstream. Imparting commando training to the youth is a part of the drive that enables a trained youth to join private security agencies and earn livelihood.

The CRPF is also contemplating to train unemployed youths on stitching, weaving, driving, welding and making candles through the voluntary organisations as part of its civil action programme.

“We had distributed 450 blankets, 250 pullovers and medicines worth around Rs 40,000 at Maigra village under Dumaria block of Gaya in November and December last year,” the ADG added.

Jan Jagran Sansthan programme manager, Gaya Uday Singh told The Telegraph that among the 75 youths who have successfully completed the three-month training, 21 were from Barachatti and Imamganj each, eight from Bodh Gaya, six from Tekari, four from Manpur, three each from Tankuppa, Fatehpur, Sherghati, Gurua, Dobhi and town blocks of Gaya, two each from Nawada and Arwal and one each from Nalanda and Patna districts. The youths received training under the guidance of CRPF 159 Bn commandant R.B. Singh and the second-in-command Chhote Lal.