Calcutta, July 16: The state government has set up an exclusive anti-Maoist force that will not only gather intelligence on the rebels but also engage them in battle, much in the style of the Greyhounds in Andhra Pradesh.

The Counter Intelligence Force (CIF) will be headed by an inspector-general (IG) of police. The IG will co-ordinate with a CRPF officer to chalk out strategies before and during an anti-Maoist operation.

“The CIF will function like the Greyhound force in Andhra Pradesh,” said director-general of police Bhupinder Singh. “Vivek Sahay has been appointed its inspector-general. He will supervise all operations against the Maoists.” Sahay was earlier the inspector-general, armed police.

The move to set up a dedicated force to deal exclusively with the Maoists was initiated after the government faced difficulties in co-ordinating between the state and central forces during operations in Lalgarh.

“Currently, the CRPF and the state forces in the three Maoist-affected districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia function under three different superintendents of police. An uninterrupted co-ordination between the three SPs is needed to fight the Maoists. However, this was missing on a number of occasions,” a home department official said at Writers’ Buildings today.

“The CIF will now lead all the major anti-Maoist operations in the state. Only one person, IG Sahay, will co-ordinate with central forces during the operations. It would not be necessary for him to inform the three SPs. The new wing will function independently and it will be accountable only to the state DGP and the chief secretary,” the official added.

Another official said that during operations, the CIF would be free to draw men from the state forces as well as the CRPF. The raids, however, will be conducted under the supervision of the IG, CIF.

The CIF currently has a strength of 250. The personnel have been trained in jungle warfare by the army and the Border Security Force.

“The strength of the CIF will shortly go up to 700. Several are still undergoing training,” the home department official said. “Training camps are being set up and more men will be inducted gradually.”

The government has decided to set up three training centres of 250 to 300 acres each. The centres will be set up at Salua in West Midnapore, Taldangra in Bankura and Matigara in Siliguri with financial assistance from the Centre.

“Once these units are ready, we will recruit young men for training. We will engage retired armymen and BSF personnel to train them in jungle warfare,” the official said. Officers of the rank of deputy inspector-general of police will be in charge of the training.