By IANS
Raipur : A battalion of the Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) has left Chhattisgarh's Maoist infested Bastar region after a two-year deployment during which the personnel earned fame and appreciation for their expertise in guerrilla warfare.
"The NAP personnel deployed in Dantewada district have left the thick forested areas of Bastar to return to their home state after a two-year deployment in which they pushed the extremists to the back foot," Girdhari Nayak, Inspector General, Chhattisgarh's Maoist operations, told IANS Monday.
"They were deployed at locations vulnerable to Maoist attacks in India's worst Maoist insurgency hit district Dantewada. NAP men were experts at guerrilla warfare and proved deadly in Bastar's thick forests, especially against the militants, who prefer guerrilla attacks," a senior police officer of Bastar region told IANS by phone.
He said the Chhattisgarh government would try to get more paramilitary troops from the central government to replace the NAP.
"The NAP personnel were more lethal in their fight against the extremists in Bastar as they live in the same kind of hilly terrain in Nagaland," the police officer said.
Police estimate that about 5,000 Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles and landmines are active in the hills and forests of southern Chhattisgarh including Dantewada.