Special Action Group to tackle Naxal menace in Vidarbha

Nagpur,: A Special Action Group (SAG) of 300 specially trained armed police personnel would soon take on the Naxals in the extremist-infested districts of Eastern Vidarbha in Maharashtra, officials said on Thursday. The SAG has been raised on the lines of 'Greyhounds' of Andhra Pradesh police to deal with Naxal violence, they said. "After they complete their training, these police personnel would be deployed in most affected Gadchiroli, Gondia and Bhandara districts," Inspector General of Police, Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO), Pankaj Gupta told a news agency. Gupta said a total of 276 policemen along with 19 police sub-inspectors, four Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySP) led by an SP (Operation) are being provided special training. The SAG will carry out intelligence-based operations against Naxalites in these areas. It would be stationed in the city while about 15 to 20 teams would be sent to the affected areas for direct operations. These men are being provided training to combat Naxal terror through unconventional methods, Gupta said. A training camp is in progress at Unconventional Operations Training Centre (UOTC) at the sprawling premises of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) Group IV Centre at Hingana on the city outskirts, he said. Gupta said the average age of the men in SAG is quite less and there is no inspector-level officer in it.