Indian Government is contemplating to raise a Special Force of 10 battalions to tackle red militancy that has spread across 13 states, where the militants (known as Maoist or Naxalites) often attack Railways, Power Transmission Lines, Telecommunication Towers and other infrastructures, successfully. About 460 civilians were also killed in these attacks in 2007.
Bolstered by the success of elite ‘Gray Hound’ commando forces that have cracked down militancy in Andhra Pradesh, the government is likely to recruit 10000 men for this Special Force to be modeled on the ‘Gray Hound’. These men will be trained at jungle and counter insurgency warfare, at ‘Gray Hounds’ school in warangal, BSF institutes at Hazaribag and Silchar and at such other institutes in the country. The Special Force will have its headquarter in one of the Naxalite-affected states.
Apart fromthe proposal on Special Force, the central cabinet could also consider raising special commando companies for the existing Indian Reserve Battalions -75 of them across the country- so that each of the battalions have two such commando companies to be deployed against Naxalites or terrorists.