West Bengal seeks counter-insurgency schools
By IANSFriday, July 2, 2010
KOLKATA - West Bengal has again requested the union home ministry to set up Counter Insurgency and Anti-terrorism (CIAT) schools in the state to take on the Maoists, officials said Wednesday.
“The state government has to send its police personnel to CIAT schools in other states for training to tackle the Maoist menace and subversive activities,” said a state home department official.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has written to Home Minister P. Chidambaram, requesting him to take urgent measures to set up the schools in West Bengal at the earliest, he added.
Most West Bengal policemen now go to Orissa for training with CIAT.
The state had nearly a year ago requested the central government to set up CIAT schools to impart commando training to the police.
Then state home secretary Ardhendu Sen wrote to the central government, suggesting three places to set up such schools. These were Salua in West Midnapore, Jalpaiguri and Bankura.
The central government asked the state government to send a detailed plan but it failed to do that.
Maoists are mainly active in three three West Bengal districts: Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia.
