29,000 AK-47's procured for Anti-Maoist Operations

AK-47s continue to be the preferred assault weapon for the country's paramilitary forces deployed to neutralise terrorists and Maoists at the frontiers and in the hinterland.

Over 29,000 pieces of this Russian-origin rifle were imported by forces like CRPF, BSF and NSG over the last three years, leaving behind, by a large margin, other sophisticated assault weapons procured from the US and Israel.

The inventory of the assault weapons procured for security forces, including ITBP, CISF and Assam Rifles, during 2010-2013 show that while 29,260 pieces of the 'AK' series were procured, only 17,609 units of other weapons in this category like X-95 and SIG were imported.

While the Central Reserve Police Force, deployed extensively in the country for anti-Naxal operations procured 18,000 AK-47s, the Central Industrial Security Force guarding Indian airports got 7,921 pieces and the Sashastra Seema Bal securing borders along Nepal and Bhutan got 2,719 units.

The Sino-India border guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police procured 620 pieces of these 'Avtomat Kalashnikova' (AK) rifles.

"The AK series rifles are still the best in terms of use and adaptability for Indian security forces personnel. Be it any domain of combat operations like anti-Maoist or counter-terror operations, this weapon has delivered good results," a senior security official said.

With the advent of new technology and new dynamics of combat, the country's security establishment has also imported other modern variants of assault rifles.

So while the CRPF got 6,382 pieces of X-95 for its troops in Maoist operations, the elite National Security Guard (NSG) got 675 pieces of the Swiss-make SIG assault rifles.

X-95 

"There have not been many assault weapons that suit the Indian conditions and the forces. Also, the role of the internal security forces is essentially to combat and not assault. So, a specialist counter-terror force like NSG also uses sub-machine guns like MP5 and Glock pistols for fighting from close quarters," a NSG official explained.



The security forces, through the Union Home Ministry, procured the AK-47s from Bulgaria while the X-95s are procured from Israel.

Among the other weapons that these forces procured during the same fiscals are MP-5 guns from Heckler and Koch (Germany), Carbine machine guns (Storm) from Beretta (Italy) and Glock Pistols from Hong Kong and Austria.

Source : http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/over-29-000-ak-47s-procured-for-paramilitary-forces-213293

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Security forces worried as Maoists make rocket launchers, RPGs

Red rebels spent Rs. 4-5 crore on research and on setting up units to manufacture arms

Security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations as well as the red rebels have a reason to be worried now.

The counter-insurgency specialists are concerned over the rebels' ability to fabricate area weapons such as rocket launchers (RLs), rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-personnel mines (APMs) in clandestine workshops set up in Kolkata, Mumbai and other metros. And the Maoist leadership is troubled over the ability of intelligence operatives to bust the ultra-secret weapon-making units and nab or kill Maoist leaders.

Raids in Kolkata and Mumbai last week brought to light certain facts, which are quite worrisome to the security forces. The Maoists have not only been running weapon units in metros, but have also set up a major weapon assembly and manufacturing unit in the Bastar forests, possibly in Abuz Maad, an impregnable area.

The intelligence agencies have also learnt that the rebels spent Rs. 4-5 crore on research and on setting up units to manufacture RLs, RPGs, mortars, hand grenades and rifles. The seizure of Rs. 1.2 crore in Kolkata and Mumbai dens is by far the biggest-ever haul of cash in anti-Maoist operations.

The seizure of vanloads of parts, which could be assembled into thousands of RLs, RPGs, APMs and hand grenades, in Raipur and other places indicated that the first priority of the Maoists was to improve their striking capabilities. The spares, fabricated in Kolkata and Mumbai, are sent to Raipur through truck operators. The Maoists are suspected to be taking the help of some businessmen in Raipur to transport them to Bastar, intelligence sources told The Hindu.

What is confirmed now is that the Maoists have set up heavy workshops in the Bastar forests, where all the detached parts are assembled to make the area weapons. Earlier, intelligence agencies were puzzled over claims that those venturing into Abuz Maad heard a constant drone of heavy duty generators. Now sleuths suspect that these could be weapon-making units. Their belief is based on the seizure of aluminium and zinc castings in the raids.

Quoting interrogation reports, sources say, the Kolkata and Mumbai workshops have so far sent in parts which could make not less than 3,000 rockets. Interestingly, the designs of the RLs and rockets were found to be vastly improved when compared to the RLs seized in Andhra Pradesh in 2006 after the arrest of ‘Tech Madhu' and in workshops at Ambattur in Chennai subsequently. “The efficiency of rockets seized earlier was around 60 per cent. They have now improvised on them,” senior officials conceded.

The inclusion of area weapons in the arsenal of Maoists will help them defend their areas of control very well if the security forces venture into them. “The Maoists have built permanent structures in their strongholds like Gollapalli or Kishtaram. Area weapons such as RLs, RPGs, LMGs are extremely useful in halting the advance of the enemy. We depend solely on ground movement and not in using air power in counter-insurgency operations. In this scenario, use of rockets and grenades would be of tremendous benefit to the Maoists,” a senior police officer, who led several anti-naxal operations, said.

The picture, however, is not that rosy for the Maoists. While they have been holding their forte in their areas of operation in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, the security forces have managed to inflict maximum losses by arresting or killing top cadre leaders.

An analysis of the losses suffered by the Maoists in recent times reveals that most of the first-generation leaders have either been arrested or killed in controversial circumstances. This should be the biggest cause of concern for Maoists because they are losing the ideologically committed senior leaders in a situation where not many educated people are joining the ranks of the red rebels.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2975255.ece