CRPF jawans lag in combat training

Aug. 14: The CRPF, all set to get into a combat mode against the dreaded Maoists in November, has not been able to undergo adequate training for the last two-and-a-half years.

For the past two-and-a-half years, the CRPF personnel were heavily deployed for various internal security duties which ranged from trouble at Nandigram, Amarnath land agitation to the Lok Sabha polls. The CRPF is now expected to launch an operation jointly with other security forces against the Maoists in the red belts which include Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand.

In a bid to prepare the force for the strikes, the government intends to begin en-mass training of the force covering all ranks by the end of this month.

A section of senior officials, however, expressed concern since they feel that there "might not be enough time to complete the training for the force, which generally takes at least six weeks". The training module to be undertaken by the CRPF personnel will include basic and advanced physical training, unarmed combat, weapon tactics, motor transport, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorist programmes, human rights sensitivity, anti-explosive, map reading besides a course on intelligence.

It was learnt only about 10 per cent of the force has so far been able to complete the training course. Officials admitted that insufficient training of its personnel is one of the major reasons for the force’s inability to achieve major successes in its operations against Naxalites and insurgent groups operating in Kashmir and the Northeast.

"Due to hectic and continuous deployment, the in-service training of the force has been suffering for more than two years. To cover the huge backlog, at this juncture, 180 companies of CRPF are being sent for extensive training from all over the country under the first phase," an MHA official said.

The 4-6 weeks in-service training programme is a must for the force, expected to operate in tough, impregnable terrains, since it sharpens and upgrades the skills of the force. To get into the shape, 35 companies deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, are also being withdrawn.

The official, however, pointed out that the training process is likely to spill over to the next year since it is now being conducted in a phased manner depending on the availability of the force, a senior home ministry official said.

Source : Asian Age