JOIN USIn a bid to increase security in Maoist-affected areas, the Union Home Ministry wants the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to deploy more personnel to fight against the left-wing extremists but the force is not keen due to crunch in numbers of personnel.
Sources in the ITBP said the Union Home Ministry is pressing the paramilitary force, which is mainly deployed in the snow-clad 3,488 km Sino-Indian border, to deploy another batch in the Maoist-infested regions of the country.
At present, three battalions – around 3,000 personnel – of the force are deployed in Chhattisgarh, which is witnessing heightened activities of the ultras. In May, the Maoists had attacked a convoy of Congress leaders killing over 25 people, including senior leaders like V C Shukla.
The ITBP sources said the force is not in a position to deploy more personnel. They said it could be done only after raising the new battalions, which have been allotted.
The force will be raising nine battalions – around 9,000 personnel – in two years. This fiscal alone, around 5,000 personnel will be inducted into the force while the remaining will be done in the next fiscal.