The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has started the process of setting up two COBRA (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action) battalions at Mirzapur and Sonbhadra for anti-Naxal operations.

A team comprising ministry and CRPF officials from Delhi reached Mirzapur on Monday and visited the place where the battalion will be stationed on Bihar border. The place had been designated six months ago by the MHA officials.

The MHA has set up a battalion each in the Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh in the first phase. Sonbhadra SP Dr Preetinder Singh said: “The COBRA battalions in UP have to be headquartered at Mirzapur and Sonbhadra in the second phase. While the area has already been identified in Mirzapur, the CRPF officials have to decide the place in Sonbhadra.”

The six COBRA battalions were raised in CRPF in 2008 at a cost of Rs 1,389.47 crore for use in the Naxal-affected states like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The Centre had also sanctioned Rs 491.35 crore for the training of selected personnel at CRPF training centre in Silchar, Assam. The specialised force is trained for anti-Naxal operation in the jungles. They have expertise in handling 19 different types of assault weapons.

On Monday, MHA and CRPF officials accompanied by engineers reached Mirzapur. Police officers from Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sonbhadra who had also rushed to the spot, were asked to go back. Police sources revealed that the engineers accompanying the Central team conducted a detailed survey of the area, where the battalion has to be stationed. The officials who communicated with the MHA team revealed that the work of setting up of infrastructure for the battalion is to be completed next year.