2,000 CoBRA Commandos to Be Deployed in Sukma to Flush Out Maoists

Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, or CoBRA Commandos as they are better known, were raised by the central government under CRPF to act as a special guerrilla combat wing. (Photo Courtesy: CRPF)

In a meeting with chief ministers of ten Maoist-affected states on 8 May, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Maoist issue cannot be dealt with a “silver bullet” solution. India must aggressively step up its offensive against left-wing guerrillas in the face of surging casualties in the security forces, Singh said.

The CRPF will soon deploy a fresh squad of about 2,000 commandos from its special guerrilla warfare CoBRA battalions in and around Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district to defang the Maoists and their arsenal. A proposal in this regard was discussed during the meeting.

A top official privy to the development said the paramilitary has prepared a blueprint to mobilise at least 20 to 25 companies of the CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) from their present locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to the Bastar region.

Also Read: No ‘Silver Bullet’ Solution: Rajnath Singh on Anti-Naxal Strategy

A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each. The official explained the rationale behind the move to "very soon" airlift these teams from their current bases.

The CoBRA teams will specifically be used to increase the kill ratio of the forces and deliver heavy blow to the Maoists TCOC campaign

"In the present circumstances where there are no regular battalions to spare and operations by them have faced reverses, it is the CoBRA that will pave the way. They will undertake special operations to decimate the Naxals' manpower and firepower," the official said.

In order to assist them, the official said, it has been planned to seek additional flying hours from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to undertake more sorties to aid CoBRA operations.

At present, an IAF chopper flies a maximum of 120 hours per month which is expected to be raised to 160 hours soon, the officer added.

Another official present in Monday's meeting said the regular CRPF teams will be provided with more teams of expert troops who are adept at handling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) which have killed or maimed over 300 security forces personnel in the last year itself.

Also, some battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force will be "re-deployed" in the Bastar region to target special areas where armed Naxal cadres are active.

Also Read: Red Terror Wipeout: Raman Singh’s Mission Sukma to Kill Naxalism

Casualties in Maoist-related Incidents

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has made some gains against the Maoist rebels, with security forces experiencing less casualties in the last three years compared to previous three years up to 2013. However Maoist attacks surged again in 2017, with security forces losing 37 people in March and April alone, BloombergQuint reported.

(Photo Courtesy: BloombergQuint)

Sukma and its adjoining areas have witnessed some of the deadliest ambushes on security forces recently, like the one where 25 CRPF personnel were killed in the Burkapal area of the district on 24 April, and on 11 March, twelve CRPF personnel were killed by Maoists in Sukma.

Also Read: ‘Red Zone’ Battles: Malkangiri’s Gain is Sukma’s Loss

(With inputs from PTI.)