The West Bengal government’s decision to ‘not oppose’ bail of arrested Maoist suspects, in return for a hostage being released, has been widely criticised. What should our strategy be in such situations?

Abduction and demanding ransom has been quite common in the strategy of Left extremist terrorists. In May 1991, as

Inspector General of Police, Anti-Terrorist Operations,(Maharashtra), I supervised police operations when a minister of the state government was kidnapped by a ‘dalam’ of the Peoples War Group in Gadchiroli. The demands included the release of arrested cadres, suspension of police operations, withdrawal of armed police personnel, and the release of a deputy dalam commander facing trial. Backed by the then chief minister, we secured the release of the hostage after two weeks without conceding any demand.

In December the same year, when a Naxalite dalam in Bhandara district kidnapped two engineers of the Atomic Energy Commission from their camp located in the jungle, with full support from the state government, we secured their release through operations without conceding any demand. Relentless pressure on the dalam with active support from the villagers resulted in their being freed after a week. My team and I remain deeply impressed by the strength and stoicism shown by the family members and colleagues of the hostages.

Andhra Pradesh has seen many kidnappings over the years. There, as elsewhere, the demands have almost always been for release of arrested cadres and withdrawal of police. The AP Police have done excellent work for nearly four decades containing the armed revolution of the Peoples War Group. While developing responses to abduction and ransom demands, the sacrifice of the police personnel of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and other affected states, cannot be ignored. How a situation is handled sends a message and certainly has a big impact on morale.

... contd.