NEW DELHI: Specialised robots will now be used by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Naxal areas to detect and neutralise hidden IEDs that have been the main source of fatalities of the security forces’ personnel in the ultra-Left extremism-hit areas.
Addressing mediapersons in his farewell address here on Monday, CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad said the capabilities of the robotic devices for containing the IEDs in Naxal-hit areas are being ascertained by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Using the robotic device, hidden bombs beneath the dirt tracks or 'pucca' roads could be identified and safely defused without physical human intervention, thereby saving troops from being killed or maimed by its explosive impact, Prasad further elaborated.
Prasad said the robot is being tested and it will be put to field trials soon before being deployed to contain the menace of IEDs.
The robot undergoing tests at IIT, Bombay, is an all-terrain, four-wheeled machine that can be remotely operated by patrol teams to detect the hidden IEDs and safely defuse such bombs, officials said.
IED explosions have taken a heavy toll on the security forces’ personnel and hundreds of CRPF and other security personnel have been killed or lost their limbs as the crafty ultras often plant bombs in innovative ways to hit the forces.
The CRPF is also exploring the possibility of providing special boots that can withstand impact of blasts from beneath the surface. The boots are undergoing tests at a Hyderabad-based institute, officials said.
Prasad claimed 2016 had the lowest level of violence in the Naxal theatre and the force estimates that the weapon and ammunition strength of the guerrillas has come down to a large extent.
The Maoists' dream of having a "red corridor" of their presence in the country has been shattered, he added.
"A large number of cadres are surrendering...some important cadres are surrendering regularly now. There is no red corridor as it was propagated earlier....the Naxals are now contained to pockets only," the DG claimed.
"We have been able to penetrate their hideouts and fortress. Our teams have inflicted heavy losses on the Naxals," said Prasad who is retiring from service on Tuesday.
The CRPF, with over 90 battalions (90,000 personnel) in Naxal-hit States is the lead anti-Maoist Central paramilitary force of the country.