Over the years, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has prevented Naxalites and Maoists from adding to their ranks in tribal villages, renewing the hope for an early end to extremism, according to Mandava Vishnuvardhana Rao Inspector-General of Police of the CRPF’s Southern Sector.
Mr. Rao was here on Friday for the 87 passing-out parade at the Central Training College II of the CRPF at Kurudampalayam near Thudiyalur.
He told journalists that the CRPF’s efforts to curb the left-wing extremism included interactions with tribal people and meeting their basic needs. “We explained to the tribal people the ills of violence and told them that it was not the solution to [their] problems. This resulted in people not helping Naxalites in any form.”
Mr. Rao said: “The aim of the CRPF is not to kill Naxalites but to change their ideology and make them proactive in social development. We are willing to help them surrender and to work towards their rehabilitation.”
The Maoists used improvised explosive devices (IED), which killed CRPF personnel and villagers. “On the other hand, the CRPF is evolving by putting its personnel through courses on better handling incidents of violence and using state-of-the-art weapons,” he said.
Mr. Rao said the CRPF was successful in gathering information about 80 per cent of the Naxals and was collecting information on the others. “We have also shared the inputs with the National Investigation Agency on from where the extremist organisations procured weapons.”