The West Bengal government will soon develop an elite commando force to tackle Maoists in the forests of Lalgarh and other naxal-hit parts of the state, police sources said on Friday.
Modelled on the anti-naxal Greyhound force of Andhra Pradesh, commandos of the new force will receive
intense training in counter-guerrilla warfare.
The squad will comprise 937 personnel, said a senior police officer, not willing to be quoted. They will also be trained in jungle warfare, like their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from physical and combat training, the force will be shown video footages of Maoist movements, collected by Greyhound officers. This will be done to familiarise them with Maoist techniques, the officer said.
The members of this force, tentatively called Counter Insurgency Force (CIF), will also receive combat training from the military.
“Right now, the force is known as Counter Insurgency Force. But we will have another name once the training is complete,” Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh told Hindustan Times.
While the CIF will primarily operate in forest areas, it will also function in suburban locations.
The CIF personnel will be geared with night-vision goggles, along with an independent communications system and a separate intelligence wing.
“They will function under an officer not below the rank of special inspector general in Maoist-infested areas,” Singh added.