Four companies of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a specialised unit of the CRPF to counter Naxalites, have been sitting almost idle in West Midnapore for almost four months now even as Maoist violence in the Lal Mahal area — as the forest area in the district as well as bordering districts is known — has seen a steep rise.

Officials said the state government has almost failed to utilise the commando force as it was not supplied with adequate intelligence inputs by the state CID and state Intelligence Bureau.

The CoBRA force, unlike the Greyhound commando force operating in Andhra Pradesh, does not have an intelligence wing of its own and depends on the state CID and the IB for specific intelligence inputs.

“Our force cannot operate in the Jungle Mahal area due to lack of ground intelligence and the force mostly remains confined to the barracks. We have been asking for specific inputs from the state intelligence agencies for quite a long time, but to no avail,” said a highly placed official with leading the CoBRA force in West Midnapore. In the past four months, the CoBRA companies were pressed into service in less than five operations.

The state government, incidentally, has sent a fresh proposal to the Centre asking for four more companies of the force for deployment in West Midnapore district. DGP Bhupinder Singh said: “We have been asked by the CoBRA commandos to provide specific inputs. The state intelligence agencies have been alerted about it. In view of the vulnerable situation in the Jungle Mahal area, we have asked the Centre for additional four companies of CoBRA.”

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