Odishatv Bureau
Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will seek the deployment of two additional battalions of CRPF in State to combat Naxalism during the chief ministers’ conference on internal security in New Delhi convened by the Home Ministry on Wednesday.
 
“The State government will put forth its demand for two battalions of CRPF besides the existing forces,” home secretary UN Behera said.   
 
Currently, about 16 battalions of central para-military forces including 8 CRPF, 7 BSF and one CoBRA have been mobilized to undertake anti-Maoist operations in the state.
 
Post Sukma attack in neighbouring Chhatisgarh on May 25, in which Naxalites ambushed a convoy of vehicles killing at least 28 people, the CMs of nine Naxal-affected states are meeting on Wednesday to formulate strategy on how to check the unabated violence by Maoists and tackle the menace.
 
While all the issues related to internal security will be discussed in the meeting, Naxal management is most likely to dominate the deliberation headed by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. 
 
According to officials, the Centre is expected to take consent from the chief ministers of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal for launching an all-out anti-Naxal operation involving specialised forces like CoBRA and Andhra Pradesh's Greyhounds simultaneously in all Naxal-affected states to wipe out the extremists from their strongholds.
 
 “Every Naxal-affected State should develop a Greyhounds force [on the lines of Andhra Pradesh] to combat Naxals. The Centre would offer help in this area,” Shinde had said after returning from Chhatisgarh.
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