“One number sentryiiiiiiii..., hoshiyaaaar hai”.

The loud, long-winding call in the dead of night breaks the silence in this village situated perilously close to the thickly-forested Naxal dreamland of Abujmad. Twelve hard-hit bangs of tolls rippling out of an iron bell, denoting the time, follow. And barely have the echoes died, there’s another one: “two number sentryiiiiiiii..., hoshiyaaaar hai” followed, this time, by a solitary toll. Then another one. And then yet another one. And then the call-toll combo is fired one last time by the fifth sentry.

Spending a night in the vicinity of Jaravandi’s fortress-like police station not only unsettles a stranger, but also keeps the village of 3,000 alert, if not awake. Remaining alert should ideally be the name of the game here because Jaravandi as police station has been dealing with Naxalism for 17 years now.

Until four months ago, the area under it was a Naxal hotbed. The Janatana Sarkar bid by the Naxals had policemen hurrying on a “goodwill” mission to the villages and ultimately 28 Naxal workers laid down arms on January 12.

Seventy-eight km from Gadchiroli town and 55 km from the tehsil headquarter of Etapalli, Jaravandi is one of the 44 outposts in the district that has 3,000 policemen for 10 lakh population. The 75-strong posse here, including 32 State Reserve Police (SRP) men and 43 regular state policemen, can’t afford one lax moment, what with the Naxals trying to form a Janatana Sarkar (people’s government) in 11 villages within the police station’s jurisdiction.

... contd.