JOIN USHit by Naxal strikes in the Malkangiri district of Odisha on Friday, Border Security Force (BSF), has decided to focus on developing real-time intelligence in the region to make effective pre-emptive strikes on the fast-footed Maoists.
Four BSF officers, including a commanding officer, were killed while two others were injured in an IED blast by suspected Maoists in Malkangiri district.
According to sources in the BSF, in future, foot movements of the BSF would be restricted as much as possible and, troops may be straightaway airlifted.
They said that inputs from intelligence are key to battling Naxals who are well acquainted with the tribal terrain and forest cover of Malkangiri. “Gathering good intelligence is pivotal to combating guerrilla type attacks”, sources said.
Standard Operational procedures are to be followed to avoid such ambush, they said, pointing at the repeated casualties suffered by CRPF in Naxal-affected areas of Chattisgarh.
BSF was deployed in the Naxal-affected district of Kanker in Chhattisgarh in December 2009, and January 2010. In April 2010, the Force was deployed in Koraput and Malkangiri districts of the state.
CRPF, one of the intelligence wings of the para-military force, this year, opened a dedicated intelligence cell in Gurgaon to train the CRPF sleuths.