Security personnel get trained in jungle warfare in Jharkhand

Aluva/Muvattupuzha (Kerala), July 10 (ANI): Training in jungle warfare is being imparted to police personnel in Jharkhand to combat Maoists in the region.

The Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism (C.I.A.T) school, which has been set up in Netarhat, is training 537 security personnel from various districts of the state.

Retired army officers are training the security personnel.

"The government has sent us for training because of the trouble created by the Maoist rebels in Jharkhand. We are being prepared to fight against them," said Tulsi Munda.

"Basically we are training them in firing, physical fitness, warfare and survival in the jungle. All training which is given against terrorism is being imparted here," said M Lal Shah, training official.

Officials feel that it is important to adapt to the conditions of the rebels to fight effectively against them.

"Initially our objective was to see that the party which has gone to the jungles in the morning returns to their base camps by evening. But now the objective of this training is to impart knowledge about the staying and surviving in the jungles. We are training them in such a way that they know how to sustain in the jungles for three to four days," said Prashant Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Palamu.

There has been a rise in Maoist attacks this year, especially after the government launched a coordinated security offensive to flush out the rebels from their jungle hideouts in central and eastern states of the country.

In two major incidents earlier in April, the Maoists killed 76 police in an ambush and another 35 in an attack on a bus that was carrying paramilitary troops along with the civilians.

On their part, the Maoists claim that they are crusading for the cause of the poor, marginal farmers and landless labourers.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called the Maoists India's gravest internal security threat. (ANI)