Home Ministry sits on proposal for special Anti-naxal force

New Delhi, June 29 (PTI) The Home Ministry continues to
sit on the proposal on much awaited Special Anti-naxal Force
(SAF), on similar pattern of 'Greyhounds' of Andhra Pradesh
Police, to counter Left-extremism which is being seen as a
"virus" engulfing nearly 13 states of the country.
The CRPF, which is designated as the central force for
countering anti-insurgency, had immediately started work for
creation of such a force after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
had asked for the same in December and also submitted a
proposal few months ago to the Union Home Ministry.
However, despite getting an in-principle clearance of
setting up of ten battalions (nearly 10,000 personnel) to be
led by an Inspector General, the Union Home Ministry has not
sent the proposal to the Union Cabinet for approval, sources
in the Ministry said.
The blueprint for the new force is already in place and
the concerned authorities are just awaiting for the final
clearance from the Union Cabinet to put the much needed force
in action.
In its proposal, the CRPF has submitted that 10 fresh
battalions should be sanctioned and, in the meantime, it would
deploy an equal number of personnel to begin operations from
the day it was sanctioned.
A senior officer K Durga Prasad, 1981 batch IPS officer
from Andhra Pradesh, was posted by the CRPF to take charge of
the new SAF force for his knowledge and expertise in handling
the anti-left wing operations.