Chhattisgarh : Fresh batch of 400 tribal youths set to join CRPF in the insurgency-hit state.

 

 

As many as 400 youths of the local tribal community hailing from Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma are all set to join the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as part of a special recruitment drive being run in the Maoist affected erstwhile Bastar district of the state.

 

Briefing the media about the development a senior official of the home ministry confirmed that the "tribal youths will be mostly part of the 'Bastariya battalion', named after the erstwhile undivided Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. Several hundred such native tribal youths have already been deployed by the CRPF after training. Offer of appointment to all 400 selected native tribal youths have been issued."

 

Earlier the central government in 2016 had announced plans to raise a special battalion of tribal youths 'the Bastariya Battalion' of the CRPF in which tribal youths from the interior region of the insurgency-hit state are given relaxation in age and height in recruitment.

 

As per the officials of the CRPF, so far many of the batches of the tribals youth have already been commissioned in the Bastariya battalion, who in terms have contributed immensely in the fight against the Maoists, these local youths familiar with the topography and local dialects of the region are also turned to be vital while gathering solid intel from the locals.

 

 

It should be noted that over the last few years the presence of the largest paramilitary force of the country has been strengthened briskly in the Maoist affected region of the state. The strategic deployment of the CRPF troops strengthened after the current central government gave nod to the large-scale offensive against the Maoist in the state resulting in establishment of numerous forward operating bases (FOB) in the Bastar region.

 

The intention of the government in eliminating the red terror from the tribal heartland of the state can be better understood by the fact that as many as 19 FOB have been established in the Maoist affected zones of the state in the last one year alone.

 

Established in the remotest region of the state these FOB are not only helpful in stationing the troops directly to the areas where the Maoist presence is stronger but it also help immensely in building a solid intelligence network among the remotest villages in the state.

 

It is worth mentioning that the strategic planning of the government and the efforts of the security forces are yielding fruitful results in the state as a large chunk of the areas are now being controlled by the government who were once considered as the Maoist bastions.

 

However the growing influence of the forces in these remotest regions have also fumed the ultras as they are now facing the heat in their own bastion, the tantrum of the Maoist can be better understood with the fact that dozens of civilians including some village heads and leaders of the BJP have been targeted and killed by the Maoists in the last six months alone.