Ready for combat

Durgapur, Aug. 22: Nearly 1,000 jawans and officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) today completed special training as part of the Centre’s decision to raise a special task force to combat Maoists and other terrorist outfits in Bengal and elsewhere.

The 800-odd jawans and 120 officers were handpicked from the CRPF’s 171st battalion and they will be deployed in the CPI(Maoist)-infested areas of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura replacing the Border Security Force personnel there.

The crack force would be armed with automatic rifles, light machine guns, carbines, AK-47, hand grenades, mine detectors, fireproof uniforms and bullet proof jackets.

“We have trained the special force ? on the lines of a para-military force ? over the past one year in the art of tackling ambush and detecting landmines in jungles. The squad will be under direct control of the Union home ministry and the state home department will co-ordinate with the ministry,” said Subhas Goswami, inspector general of CRPF (eastern sector). The force was trained at the CRPF centre in Durgapur.

More jawans and officers will be trained in the second phase and part of this special force will also be deployed in north Bengal to tackle militant outfits like the KLO.