GUWAHATI, May 22? The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is preparing itself to take over the responsibility of internal security duty or counter insurgency operations from the Army in the Northeastern region. The Inspector General of CRPF, North Eastern Region, Raj Deep Singh today informed that as per the recommendations made by the Group of Ministers formed by the Central government, the CRPF was expected to relieve the Army of its responsibility to counter the insurgents in the region and other parts of the country as well by the end of the year 2005.
The para-military force is now preparing itself to take on the insurgent outfits of the region on its own. About 200 new battalions are planned to be raised by the year 2005. Already over 150 battalions have been raised with specially trained personnel to face the well equipped ultras here.
Meanwhile, the Army trainers have been working overtime to help the CRPF personnel, particularly the new recruits, to acquire the special skills to fight well equipped insurgents operating in the region characterised by hostile terrain. The official informed that the paramilitary force was being equipped with sophisticated weapons as part of its preparation to match the fire power of insurgents in full scale operations.
The good news for the unemployed from the region that raising of new battalions in the CRPF will open large number of job slots for the young boys and girls from the North Eastern region. However, the IGP regretted that although the paramilitary force had recruited a large number of youths in its lower level ranks from the region particularly from the State of Manipur, the response from the region to the recruitment drives for higher rank officers in the force was not at the desired level. He stated that the State governments in the region should encourage educated youths to go for higher rank jobs in the paramilitary force.
The IGP was very candid in stalling that as of now, the force did not have any plan to recruit surrendered militants to its ranks although a large number of surrendered militants from Jammu and Kashmir were rehabilitated in the force during the 1980s.
The CRPF official informed that State police forces in the North-eastern region, particularly those from Assam and Meghalaya, were coordinating well in respect of launching a joint fight against militants who have set up a regionwide network among themselves. He informed that the higher level of coordination between Assam police and Meghalaya police had been instrumental in recent series of successful operations carried out against insurgents in Garo Hills areas of Meghalaya located closer to the inter-State boundary in Western Assam district of Goalpara.
He informed that militant outfits from Assam, the ULFA and NDFB, were very active in Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya where they enjoy the patronage from the banned A?Chik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), the banned Garo militant outfit. He further informed that the Khasi militant outfit Hynnewtrap National Liberation Council (HNLC) which is more active in Khasi Hills areas in Meghalaya, was maintaining close association with the NSCN-IM.
The CRPF official cited inadequate deployment of security personnel as the key reason for growing activities of Naga rebel outfits NSCN-IM and NSCN-K in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. According to figures given by the official, at present total 145 companies of the CRPF were deployed in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. Out of those 125 companies are engaged in Assam, ten in Arunachal Pradesh and the rest ten in Meghalaya.