Chhattisgarh: One release effort,many agendas

Abduction and release of Chhattisgarh cops part of a larger Maoist strategy.

From the abduction of five security personnel last month to their release last week,Chhattisgarh went through an 18-day sequence of events that the Maoist abductors,the government and human rights groups each used to suit their own agenda.

The Maoists,it now appears,had prepared their side of the script in advance with a larger objective in mind. The government and the Maoists both used the opportunity to showcase their humanitarian face,the former suspending operations and the latter releasing the hostages unharmed. And human rights activists took up the cause of the hostages,an effort to show that they do care about the rights of policemen targeted by Maoists.

Government sources are now certain that the abduction and the release were timed tactically to allow top Maoist leaders to move in and out of the region unhindered. The suspension of operations,government insiders say,allowed some top Maoist leaders from outside the state to attend a meeting in Abujmarh region,a Maoist stronghold falling mostly in the Bastar region.

The five Chhattisgarh Special Armed Force men were abducted on January 25 and released on February 11. Nearly a week after the abduction,Maoists telephoned journalists to inform them that the five were in their captivity. They made 11 demands,including the scrapping of a proposed Army training centre in the foothills of Abujmarh.

Abujmarh is a 4,000-sq-km territory,hilly,rocky and forested,sparsely populated and largely uncharted on any survey. The inaccessible,dense forests make it an ideal Maoist haven but the rebels also wanted to ensure safe entry and exit for the visiting leaders,government insiders say,adding tthat hey have intelligence inputs on the meeting called by the Maoists East Bastar divisional committee.

An indication of the Maoists true objective came when they suddenly changed their demand,saying that they would release the hostages effectively sending out the message that they too cared about humanitarian considerations but insisting that the government stop all search operations and keep the forces in the barracks for at least 24 hours The Maoists said they would hand over the hostages to social activists Swami Agnivesh and Gautam Navlakha,another tactical move to pre-empt any operation by security forces.

Swami Agnivesh,who led the delegation that secured the release,says,It has been said that Maoists are ruthless but they have now made a gesture by unconditionally releasing them. The hostages were treated very well.

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The government,for its part,effectively showcased its concern for the abducted policemen. When Swami Agnivesh conveyed the demand for suspension of search and combing operations for 24 hours to enable a safe release,Chief Minister Raman Singh told him he was ready to suspend operations for 48 hours. Indeed,official messages were sent to security forces not to carry out any search or area domination exercises in the entire Bastar region for 48 hours till the policemen were released.

For organisations such as Dr Binayak Sens PUCL (Peoples Union for Civil Liberties),the abduction and release efforts presented an opportunity to counter what it has been frequently accused of that it does not care about the human rights of policemen targeted by Maoists. PUCL activists participated in the process for securing the policemens release. Significantly,activists of the PUCL and other suchorganisations,for the first time since 2007,shared the dais with Raman Singh and top police and civil officials at a press conference.

This came at a time when the PUCL and other groups are unleashing a campaign against the BJP government in Chhattisgarh over the conviction and sentencing of Dr Sen on charges of Maoist links.

Local television channels did not lag behind either. Practically every news channel claimed it was its efforts that led to the eventual release.