Dantewada CRPF batallion was not trained by army

The government said on Wednesday that the 62nd Battalion, which lost 75 of its personnel during the bloody encounter with Naxals in Dantewada last month, was not trained by the army. "Army training was introduced for newly-inducted battalions meant for inter-State operations in Naxal-affected areas after August 2009. 62nd Battalion was inducted in Chhattisgarh in May 2009 as part of the annual changeover of Central Reserve Police Force battalions which were placed at the disposal of the state government for long-term deployment in Maoist-infested areas.

"As such, 62nd Battalion was not among those trained by the army," Minister of State for Home Ajay Maken told Rajya Sabha in a written reply. He, however, said pre-induction training was imparted to all companies of the 62nd Battalion before deployment. "Moreover, this (62nd) Battalion had been deployed for Naxal operations in Bihar for three years before being moved to Chhattisgarh," the minister said.

There were sharp criticisms from certain quarters about the leadership and training of the CRPF personnel following the heavy casualty suffered by the Battalion in the country's worst-ever Maoist attack on April 6.