With Naxal violence showing a constant upward swing, the Union home ministry is concerned about the bulk of the armed operations of the elite CoBRA Force against the Maoists going futile. The issue was discussed at length during a recent high-level security meeting of sectoral inspector-generals from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and top officials of the ministry of home affairs.
The CoBRA Forces was constituted under the administrative control of the CRPF to deal primarily with the Naxal menace. Home ministry sources said it has been noticed that as many as 80 per cent of the CoBRA’s operations go futile due to a host of factors. The MHA is keen on dropping this percentage sharply.
A senior ministry official said, “Though CoBRA is a highly specialised unit and is working very hard, but it is not giving the kind of desired results. This may happen due to lack of intelligence, Naxals managing to escape in the jungle even during an encounter due to increased local support or knowledge of the terrain. So now we need to ensure that the purpose for which CoBRA’s have been deployed in the Naxal affected areas is achieved.’’
At a time when intelligence agencies are getting enough evidence of a link between the Naxals and Pakistan’s ISI, the MHA wants a greater urgency in anti-Naxal operations by the security forces.
A critical issue, sources said, that came up during the meeting was the need for better arms and ammunitions for the CoBRA Force’s operations.
It was revealed that the hand grenades used by the CoBRA were not giving the desired results.
Another important issue discussed was that the Cobra commandos have to remain in jungle for days together so it was important to improve the quality of packed food and camps.