CHIKKAMGALURU: With Naxal activities declining in the Malnad region of three districts, the government is contemplating to close down some Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) camps. Police personnel working in the camps are getting ready to return to the Home Department.
The government forced the ANF in 2005 following Naxal activities in the hilly region of Malnad for social justice reaching its peak. The forces were deployed in various vulnerable places in Naxal-infested Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga and Udupi districts.
IPS officer late Madhukar Shetty was appointed as the first SP of the region. Civil police were handpicked who were given special training in combing operation against Naxalites and the ANF teams started functioning in the three districts. They worked in shifts in 12 ANF camps including Dyavalakoppa, Kigga, Kerekatte, Jayapura and Agumbe in Shivamogga, Karkala and Hebri in Udupi district. Each camp comprised 30 to 35 ANF policemen. The police and Naxalite exchanged fire after they started operating under the SP.
Since ANF is an extra burden on the exchequer, the government plans to reduce the number of camps to to five or six, and Dyavalakoppa and Jayapura NF camps will be closed down. Police personnel in the closed camps will return to civil police stations, where they were earlier posted.