In the wake of two major attacks by Maoists against the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Sukma, the government moved swiftly to make operational the joint command and control centre at Jagadalpur in Chhattisgarh, a long-standing demand of the security forces.
The move would help security forces in conducting real-time anti-Maoist operations with the help of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Earlier the UAVs, under the control of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), used to first relay the information to Delhi, then to Raipur and from there on to field commanders. The delay in relaying the images of “movement of Maoists” captured by the UAVs was of no use to the forces, who were out in the field for operations.
“Since the UAV receiver station has been upgraded now, it can pass on the information about movement of Maoists on real-time basis to those engaged in anti-Maoist operations, giving them an edge and avoid being ambushed by Maoists,” said a senior Home Ministry official.
The official also said that soon the local commanders leading the operations on the ground would get real-time images to plan their movement better.
Report to Ministry
The CRPF also submitted a detailed report to the Home Ministry stating the circumstances that led to the killing of 25 of its personnel by Maoists in Sukma on April 24.
The report talks about the apparent failure of the local commanders to gauge on ground against the huge build up of Maoists. It also said that the CRPF should take up operations in coordination with the State police, who are better equipped with the topography.
