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Though Indian defence forces have taken a leading task in combating November 26-27 terrorist blasts in Mumbai, the top leadership of the Army, Navy and the Air Force have categorically conveyed in today’s government top brass meeting headed by the cabinet secretary that it is not their mandate to engage in full time internal security tasks.
Sources in the defence ministry said that although the defence top brass has agreed to participate actively on major terrorist attacks on need basis they do not want fulltime engagement in internal security issues.
The three defence forces have around 30,000 commando force but their main task is to operate behind the enemy lines during battle. Besides this, the Indian Army has already deployed 200,000 troops in Kashmir and another 100,000 troops in the North East to fight against insurgents and Kashmiri terrorist groups.
The central government today decided to set up a special force to deal exclusively with bomb blast and terrorist attacks in cities, but composition of the force has not been worked out.
Meantime, the central government is already raising special forces to tackle Maoist terrorists for the first time since Indian Independence in 1947. The Home Ministry of India has given the clearance to recruit ten battalions, numbering around 11,000 special troops to fight Maoist terrorists operating in some parts of the country.
The special forces for homeland security will be named Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (COBRA) and will be operational in the next three years.
A government official said ‘specialized equipment will be procured from home and overseas market to equip the new special forces and will include, helicopters, electronic warfare ground systems, surveillance assets, and light weaponry.
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