Thread by @KushalSinha001, Chhattisgarh Special Task Force (STF) & District Reserve Group (DRG) NAXAL HUNTERS [...]

Chhattisgarh Special Task Force (STF) & District Reserve Group (DRG)
NAXAL HUNTERS (PART 3)

Is the combo of STF + DRG set to become the next Greyhounds ? Why and how are the two units getting success lately ? How are they different from others ? Follow the thread ↓

The thread is divided into 3 parts
•STF
•DRG
& lastly it will compare the two to mark the differences and how they are different from Greyhounds and other units.
Before we start, Id like to thank the IPS offcr who gave me the info, he wishes to remain unnamed and @xdabhishek

Special Task Force (STF)

• Estb - 2007
• HQ - Baghera, Durg
• Sanctioned S - 2322
• Actual Strength - 2700

1 STF team consists of 40/50 personnel (usually 40) which is led by an Inspector rank offcr called CC, SIs & ASIs who are founded to be capable also lead STF teams.

Training of STF commandos is carried out at STF HQ Baghera, CTJWS Kanker & Greyhounds Trg center. CTJWS is currently being headed by Brig. (Retd) @BasantPonwar sir who has been conferred with the post of Commandant CTJWS (Rank - Inspector General).
Training lasts for 2 months.

At CTJWS, all the personnel of Chhattisgarh police including IPS offcr have to undergo a compulsory basic jungle warfare Training.

The STF is centrally controlled i.e controlled by the PHQ. The administrative command structure is as follows - ADG STF → DIG STF → SP SP
Above ranks usually dont plan ops, but are responsible for logistics, attachment and detachment of STF teams (deployment duties).

STF men are recruited from district police and Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF), serve for 3 years and join their parent unit.
In pic - STF personnel w X-95 & AR-M1

HOW DOES STF OPERATE ?
STF as mentioned above are PHQ controlled, they are attached & detached from Disct on requirement basis which is done by the PHQ. While attached to a Disct, they are under the command of the SP. They have bases/hubs in a Disct from where they launch ops.

The district SP has no control over its deployment or any admin decisions. He/She can only led and coordinate ops with other units like CAF, DRG and CAPFs.

WEAPONS
Weapons commonly spotted with STF are - OFB Excalibur (older model), AR-M1 (with UBGL), IWI X-95, INSAS LMG, SLR DMR, Glock and 51mm mortar

District Reserve Group (DRG)

• HQ - Respective Disct Police HQ

• Strength - 2000 approx.

• Estb - Different Disct raised their DRGs in Different years.
Kanker & Narayanpur (2008)
Bijapur & Bastar (2013)
Sukma & Kondagaon (2014)
Dantewada (2016)

Unlike the STF which is PHQ controlled, DRG teams are under the control of Disct PHQ. The strength of each team and no. of teams to be deployed is determined by the SP according to operational requirements. The SP has full control over the logistics and admin decision making

• Usually 1 DRG team can have strength of anywhere bw 40 to 60. Each team is headed by an Inspector.

• As mentioned no. of DRG teams in Disct varies according to the requirements. Eg- Dantewada has 300 DRGs in 6 teams (50/team), Sukma has 400/450 (8-9 teams) & Bijapur 300/350

All the DRG team leaders (Inspectors) reports to AdSP (Ops) who reports to SP.
AdSP (ops) coordinates w other units and leads DRG teams. As you can see, STF being a PHQ controlled force is directly under the command of SP, whereas DRG comes under AdSP (Ops).

• Training is carried out at CTJWS & is same as STF's.
• DRG consists of local men/women and those surrendered Maoists who are deemed reliable n fit. Many a time DRG personnel operate in civil clothes to maintain secrecy.
• WEAPONS - Same as STF's except for X-95.

WHY STF & DRG ARE GETTING SUCESS ? WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT ?

1) EXPOSURE - In d last few years, STF & DRG hv been exposed to many incidents & today a time has come that CG police many a times conducts independent ops. During independent op CAPF help them w Road Opening Party

2) LOCAL KNOWLEDGE - As DRG recruits locals from the Disct, the personnel find it easy to gather intelligence. They also have knowledge about the terrain, hiding points, water sources & culture. Recruiting surrendered Naxals in the group makes them aware of their (naxal) tactics

3) FLEXIBILITY - DRG is under the direct control of the SP, he/she can conviniently increase or decrease the no. of DRG as per the requirement. Greater flexibility at the ground level (here, to SP) gives the force an added advantage.

Talking about DRG, they have come to light lately because of the high success rate. In 2015 they participated in 644 encounters with CAPFs and STFs and gunned down a total of 46 naxals !

While taking to an IPS offr who has led DRG teams into operations, he said, "DRG's sucess ratio is really high and Kushal you really don't know how much the Naxals fear the DRG !"

Unfortunately I don't have the liberty to name him

All the photo credit goes to @IndianDefenceRA,
@jaywankhadejrw Ji
@Aditya_G_Social
@CG_Police &
Other media outlets

No threads for tomorrow. Will continue after a few days. Next up in line are Odisha Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF).
Article on Police Reforms (Part - 3) will be up by tomorrow.

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