Mamata Banerjee, Sujato Bhadra

Calcutta, Oct. 25: Around 300 specially trained jawans of the Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) are ready to be deployed in the forests of Jungle Mahal for anti-Maoist operations.

Ten CIF “assault” teams, made up of the 300 jawans trained in jungle warfare at the commando training institute in Hyderabad, will be sent to the region to take part in anti-Maoist operations.

“The men have been trained to spend 48 hours in the forests at a stretch. They will be equipped with heavy assault weapons fitted with night-vision gadgets. Besides, they will carry dry food and energy drinks to help them sustain themselves for long hours,” said an officer, adding that the CIF is a state force.

The CIF teams are being deployed specifically to track down the rebels. “We want to block their escape routes,” said another officer.

During raids, the rebels usually manage to flee despite specific information about their location, the officer said. They fan out into nearby forests to take cover even as the joint forces conduct searches.

“The CIF men will be sent to the forests much before the time of the operations. They will be instructed to chase the rebels trying to escape from the villages towards the forests with heavy gunfire,” said a CIF officer.

The CIF, raised two years ago, is made up of 800 youths hand-picked from the police. Two top-level IPS officers, Vivek Sahay and Ajay Nand, had been assigned to lead the force by the Left Front.

But the unit became leaderless after the new government came to power. Sahay was transferred and became an inspector-general in the Central Reserve Police Force. Nand, on the other hand, was asked to take over as chief of the Asansol police commissionerate.

Sources said a senior IPS officer would soon take the charge of the CIF.

A section of police officers, however, expressed doubts about the success of the deployment in Jungle Mahal. They said the CIF personnel have had no chance to acclimatise.

“These men have never been to the forests in Jungle Mahal. They have no idea about the topography. A gun battle with the Maoists, who know the forests like the back of their hands, may cause massive casualty among the CIF personnel,” said an officer engaged in anti-Maoist operations in Jungle Mahal.