Bihar SPs told to go to villages to expose ‘real face’ of Naxals

Inspector General (Operations) K S Dwivedi told The Indian Express that the 15 SPs had been given Rs 5 lakh each last June to start community policing and Rs 3 lakh each to start the campaign against ultras. “We will tell people through pamphlets and advertisements how brutally they kill innocent people and damage public property at will,” says Dwivedi,referring to the recent beheading of a Jharkhand Inspector,Francis Induwar.

Police expect such psychological offensive to be a vital tool in the anti-Naxal operations. They would combine this with construction of toilets,organisation of health camps,and arranging of streetlights in remote villages.

At the same time,the operations against the Naxals will intensify while tougher laws would be applied against those in custody. Dwivedi said police treated Naxals as hardcore criminals and had been pressing for speedy trials against them. Of 274 Maoists facing trials since 2007,10 have been awarded death sentence and 22 life sentence in the state. However,Dwivedi said this was not enough.

He also sought at least 20 extra battalions for anti-Naxal operations. At present,a 400-member Greyhound-trained Special Task Force,23 companies of the CRPF,16 Bihar Military Police battalions,and 7,000 Special Auxiliary Police jawans,besides the usual police forces,are tackling Maoists in the state. “We have enforced Unlawful Prevention Activities Prevention Act against ultras,ensuring five years’ jail for them. We will soon enforce Section 121 (waging war against the state) of the Indian Penal Code against them. They may well face sedition charges,” Dwivedi said.

Why Bihar won’t be easy

• For Bihar and Jharkhand,Naxals have two special area committees — Eastern Central Regional Bureau and Northern Regional Bureau. These committees apart from the Uttar Pradesh,Uttar Bihar and Uttaranchal special area committees control Bihar ops.

• The Bihar-Jharkhand area is divided into zones — Magadh,Central,Sone Ganga-Vindhyachal,Jamui,Bhagalpur,Banka,Munger and Lakhisarai zone,and Koel-Sangh zone.  

• Parallel to these administrative zones,a central military commission,special area military commission and regional military commission,zonal command,sub-zonal command and area command look after military planning and strategies at respective levels. Besides,there is People’s Liberation Guerilla Army working as a specialised force.

• If at main levels,Naxals have special zonal/state military commissions,at secondary levels,they have zonal,divisional,district forces. Their base force are village defence squads.

• Pramod Mishra alias Banbiharji,now in Ranchi jail,and Jagdish Master,both from Bihar,are the top leaders. They call themselves members and do not bear any designations.

• The other senior leader is Central Committee secretary Ganpati from Andhra. The committee has 18 members,two of them from Bihar.

• The arrested Naxal leaders include Rampravesh Baitha,Jehanabad jailbreak mastermind Ajay Kanu,Lalbabu Saini alias Bhaskarji and his brother Devendra Saini.