“The alert calls ensure that our men remain alert,” says Sub-Inspector Sudhakar Dede, 30, who commandeers the police station. Dede, who has been around here for 19 months, has two probationer PSIs Nilesh Gaikwad, 29, and Rajesh Rathod, 26, to assist him. In all, there are four Assistant PSIs and four Head Constables. The rest, including five women, are constables.

Situated inside the village, the police station has five sentry watch-posts along its tall walls mounted with rounds of barbed wires. Being surrounded by the village along three of its watch-posts, the police station has to be extra alert. “One never knows if the enemy is watching you from one of those houses,” Dede says.

The two posts at the back face the thick forests, with a beautiful lake silhouetted against it. Just 12 km away lies Kanker, another Naxal bastion and a Salva Judum battlefront, in Chhattisgarh.

“Most of our men are in their 30s. Only the ASIs are 45,” Dede says. Indeed, Dede’s men do look fit.

Incidentally, Dede belongs to Tuljapur in Marathwada and had never seen Gadchiroli before being sent here on his first posting. The same goes for Gaikwad from Nashik and Rathod from Satara.

“Most of our constables, however, are local tribals, who know the area very well,” Dede says.

Unlike many other police stations, 90 per cent of Jaravandi staffers have their families staying with them, but in the village. There is an Ashram School up to Std XII and a private one up to Std X. The village is a marketplace for surrounding villages and has a post-office too.

... contd.