Naxals/Maoists Watch

[Oracle]

Five steps to fix the Naxals

General J F R Jacob | 2010-07-06 14:01:07

The anti-Naxal operations currently being conducted have achieved little, with the Maoists now openly challenging the government to do its worst.

This is mostly due to the lack of understanding on the part of those in command of the methodology and conduct of counter insurgency operations.

The author had taken part in counter insurgency operations in Sumatra in 1945-46. Our columns were ambushed numerous times, but we were trained to react. We moved in a balanced tactical formation, by bounds - scouts, advanced guard and main body. Once we hit an ambush, we were able to deploy, encircle and break it.

Unfortunately this pattern of operation does not obtain with our paramilitary forces like the CRPF.

In 1970, I oversaw the establishment of the counter insurgency school in Mizoram. We ensured that before being inducted for counter-insurgency operations in the northeast, every battalion was put through intensive counter insurgency training for two whole months.

I have worked with Central Reserve Police [CRP] battalions, and they are good, solid units.

In 1965, when I was commanding the brigade at Samba we had 16 CRP with us. They looked after an unfenced and un-demarcated border with competence. There were several shootouts, and their performance was commendable.

Later in 1971 in East Pakistan, 16 CRP and other CRP battalions operated in border areas against the Pakistanis with courage and determination.

There is an old army saying: 'There are no bad units, only bad officers.'

The army, on the orders of then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi, was employed to break the Naxal revolt in West Bengal in 1969-71. Mrs Gandhi was pragmatic and took hard decisions, like she did in 1971.

Was Mrs Gandhi wrong? I think not. The Naxals were driven out of West Bengal by mid 1971.

Incidentally Toofani (the Dassault MD-450) and Hunter aircraft of the Indian Air Force bombed Aizwal town on March 4-5, 1966, to evict the Mizo rebels who had literally captured the town.

I do not recommend such offensive action. The air force should be used only for surveillance and logistics.

There are two factors required to keep an insurgency going - firm bases and lines of supply for money, arms and ammunition. As long as these factors obtain, the insurgency will continue.

In the present Naxal insurgency, their firm bases are in the jungles and villages, though they have started moving into the towns. The money they get is from taxes and forcible contributions. The arms they use are captured from the CRP and police. They also buy weapons from Nepal and Myanmar.

Since these two parameters still obtain and remain unbroken, the Naxals are therefore well equipped to fight on and they will do so until they achieve their aims.

There should be a review of the tactics employed by the paramilitary in counter insurgency operations. It is of little use just sending columns into the jungle to take on the elusive and highly mobile Naxal gangs. They are mobile, far more mobile than our paramilitary troops. Mobility is comparative, but it is also a key factor. Our CRP units must strive to be more mobile than the Naxals if they hope to have any effect. So far, these columns have achieved little.

The following method used by the author in1974-75 in intercepting two Naga gangs going to China to collect weapons should be employed. The second gang of some three hundred was surrounded and captured.

In a nutshell, this was the doctrine used by the author in those days, and they still have relevance today.

Find (By surveillance, local intelligence etc),
Fix (Ensure contact is maintained),
Surround (This is imperative, otherwise they will melt away),
Close in and finally,
Apprehend.

The Indian army still puts whole battalions into counter insurgency training for two months at the counter insurgency school in Mizoram before deploying them for counter insurgency operations. The CRP too should have a fully fledged counter insurgency school based on the army model.

If appropriate corrective measures are implemented, I am confident that that the CRP battalions will overcome the Naxals.

I wish them all success.

Editor's note:

- Lt Gen Jacob is not an armchair warrior. He has dealt with terrorism and insurgency over a period of many years.
- As a young major, he took part in intensive counter insurgency operations in Sumatra 1945/1946.
- In 1970, he was responsible for setting up the army counter insurgency school in Mizoram.
- He was in charge of anti-Naxal operations in West Bengal in 1969-1971. The then chief minister Siddharta Shankar Ray used to say: 'Jake and I, we broke the Naxals.'
- In 1974/1975 the army intercepted two Naga gangs going to China [Jacob camped at Mokochong to conduct operations]. The army attacked their bases and finally forced the insurgents to sign the Shillong Accord in 1975. To recap tactics; interrupted their lines of supply for arms and ammunition from China and destroyed their bases within Nagaland. Twelve years of peace followed.
- He oversaw operations in Mizoram and got the hostiles to the negotiating table in Calcutta. [Calcutta Conference] (1978).
- On the other side of the coin, he was responsible in setting up the Bangladesh Mukti Bahini in April 1971, and oversaw their operations.
- In October 2007, He was invited to speak to the American military, State Department and CIA at Capitol Hill. The lecture was broadcast live. The US Marine Corps subsequently requested permission to incorporate parts of the talk in their counterinsurgency doctrine.

http://sify.com/news/five-steps-to-fix-the-naxals-news-columns-khgobhdbbaj.html

 

[Oracle]

Maoists attack police station in Orissa, 1 abducted

Heavily armed Maoists on Thursday attacked a police station and a forest office setting them on fire and abducted a policeman in Orissa's Keonjhar district.

Around 80 Maoists, armed with automatic weapons, stormed into Daitari town, about 220km from here, and targeted the police station and the nearby forest office opening indiscriminate fire, police sources said.

The seven policemen, who were on duty at the police station at the time of the incident, retaliated triggering a brief exchange of fire with the Maoists, after which the badly outnumbered men in uniform fled.

Assistant sub inspector Umesh Chandra Marandi has gone missing after the incident and is feared to have been abducted by the Naxals, the sources said.

The Maoists ransacked the police station and the forest office, where only two employees were present at the time of the attack, before setting them ablaze, the sources said.

The incident came on the first day of the two-day strike called by Maoists across the country to protest the killing of their top leader Cherupuri Raj Kumar by the police in Andhra Pradesh's Adilabad district on July 1.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/08/maoists-attack-police-station-in-orissa.htm

 

[nandu]

Naxals launch five attacks in 12 hours

New Delhi: The Maoists have launched five attacks across the country in the last twelve hours during the 2-day bandh called by the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) to protest the killing of their spokesperson Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad by the police in Andhra Pradesh.

Maoists attacked a Congress leader's house on Thursday in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, killing one of his family members and an associate.

The Naxals also attacked several police stations and railway stations across Chattisgarh in which at least 2 policemen have been killed.

Three CRPF camps were also attacked in the area but no casualties have been reported.

While in Orissa, around fifty Maoists attacked the Keonjhar police station and set it on fire. They abducted a police man and set a beat forest house on fire.

In Jharkhand, railway tracks in Latehar and Dhanbad were blown up but no casualties have been reported till now.


http://www.zeenews.com/news639412.html

 

[Dark Sorrow]

Kishenji injured, Bengal Maoists get new boss

Kolkata The elusive Jharkhand-based Dwijen Hembram, booked for the Salboni blast that targeted Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's convoy, is emerging as the new face of Maoists in West Bengal.

A report submitted by security agencies to the state government says that with Kishenji no longer mobile, the CPI (Maoist) has set up new jurisdictional units with additional responsibility to Hembram.

The report indicates that frequent encounters with security forces and tighter police surveillance have forced Maoists to shift their core operational base from the Lalgarh-Belpahari area in West Midnapore to the Ayodhya hills of Purulia. This area is currently not covered by the security forces.

Zulfiqar Hassan, IG, Western Range, confirmed reports that the Maoists had shifted base. "Some kind of activity has been reported from the area indicating that the Maoists are preparing a strong base in Purulia," he said.

Hembram a.k.a. Anantada is from Binpur in Jhargram, and is popular among tribals. A Maoist regional and state committee member, Hembram is prime accused in the November 2008 Salboni attack. He was also named in the attack on a police camp in Bandwan in Purulia in 2005.

Intelligence agencies believe after the Salboni incident, Hembram moved to Jharkhand and led the Gorabandha and Dalma squads. He has now been asked to return and take charge in Bengal.

"Since Kishenji is no longer mobile and cannot supervise the movement directly, the CPI (Maoist) central committee asked Dwijen to return to Bengal, organise the cadres and relocate the base to a safer place," said a police officer.

According to the officer, the CC had initially picked Sabyasachi Panda, in-charge of Orissa, to handle operations in Bengal. But Panda found it difficult to shuttle between three states and was also not experienced in handling Bengal, where the Maoists are also up against CPM cadres besides the security forces.

 

[Ray]

The bloke is just Kishan and not Kishanji.

Ridiculous to call a scoundrel with the honorific!

 

[Oracle]

Naxalites may take to urban terrorism, says US think tank


WASHINGTON: While the Maoist movement in India appears to be fairly contained for now, the rebel group's leaders and bombmakers could develop the "tradecraft for urban terrorism", a leading US strategic think tank has warned.

Taking a closer look at India's Naxalite threat, Stratfor said while "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labelled the Naxalite issue the biggest threat to the country's internal security, incidents like the 2008 Mumbai attacks provide evidence to most Indians that Pakistan and the militants who hide there pose a greater external threat".

"In the end, Naxalism is fairly contained," it said noting, "Despite threats and indications from Naxalites that they will attack urban targets throughout India, the group has yet to demonstrate the intent or ability to strike outside of the Red Corridor" - in eastern India that experiences considerable Naxalite militant activity.

"But the group's leaders and bombmakers could develop such a capability, and it will be important to watch for any indication that cadres are developing the tradecraft for urban terrorism," it said.

"Naxalites are honing the capability to construct and deploy IEDs, conduct armed raids and maintain an extensive, agile and responsive intelligence network," Stratfor warned.

"Even if they do not expand their target set and conduct more 'terrorist-type' attacks, the Naxalite challenge to the state could materialise in other ways," it said pointing out that Naxalite organization relies not only on militant tactics, but also on social unrest and political tactics to increase its power.

"Naxalites have formed sympathetic student groups in universities, and human-rights groups in New Delhi and other regional capitals are advocating for the local tribal cause in rural eastern India," Stratfor noted.

"Instead of using violence, these groups stage protests to express their grievances against the state. And they underscore the Naxalite ability to use both militant violence and subtle social pressure to achieve their goals."

Cautioning against deploying the military as suggested by many Indian politicians, Stratfor said: "Even if the government did decide to deploy the military to combat the Naxalites in eastern India, it would face a tough fight against a well-entrenched movement - something New Delhi is not likely to undertake lightly or any time soon."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...sm-says-US-think-tank/articleshow/6147555.cms

 

[Yusuf]

Bang on. Its taken for granted that his name itself is Kishen-ji. Just like how that rogue Masood Azhar was continuously called Moulana by the media and the govt at that time.

 

[RAM]

ATS, STF and Hawk Force jawans of Madhya Pradesh Police, in action during their martial art training to counter Terrorist and Naxalite attack, in Bhopal.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/CRPF-to-train-in-guerrilla-warfare/articleshow/6153283.cms

CRPF to train in guerrilla warfare
Supriya Sharma, TNN, Jul 11, 2010, 03.56am IST

RAIPUR: Faced with repeated losses in Bastar, CRPF has made a quiet change in its training schedule. A batch of 30-odd personnel has been sent for training to Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare centre in Kanker set up by the Chhattisgarh government and run by former Army Brigadier B K Ponwar.

The centre has earned fame for turning pot-bellied cops into guerrilla fighters. In the last five years, 12,700 policemen from five states have chased targets, rappelled down ropes, eaten snakes, as part of a 45-day gruelling combat schedule based on Ponwar's now famous motto: 'Fight a guerrilla like a guerrilla'.

Impressed with the rigour, and keen to orient their men to Bastar's conditions before deploying them on the field, other paramilitary forces like BSF, ITBP and SSB sent entire battalions for training to Ponwar. "More than 2,300 paramilitary men trained this year. Not a single man died on the field," says Brigadier Ponwar.

In contrast, CRPF which did not send its personnel to the centre for training lost more than 100 men in three months. CRPF is India's oldest paramilitary force with multiple training centres.

Two of the centres at Silchar in Assam and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh specialize in counter insurgency training.

 

[Oracle]

'The police sound as though they are high on pot'

A national newspaper reported on Monday morning that the alleged mastermind of Maoist attacks in Bastar last week knows novelist-activist Arundhati Roy and social activist Himanshu Kumar. Prasanna D Zore spoke to Roy and Kumar.

"The only Lingaram I know (and many of us do) is a young boy staying at Delhi Forum. He has spoken at several public forums and told the story of being kidnapped by the Salwa Judum. The (Indian) Express story is complete crap," author-activist Arundhati Roy told rediff.com in a text message.

An Indian Express report dated July 11, quoting an unsigned press release from the Dantewada police to local newspaper offices, says that Lingaram Kodopi, a tribal from Bastar is the (alleged) mastermind behind the attacks on Congress leader Avdesh Singh Gautam's home and the Kuakonda police station in Bastar last week.

The newspaper said Kodopi was in touch with activists like Arundhati Roy, Himanshu Kumar of the Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, sociologist Dr Nandini Sundar and Narmada Bachao Andolan activist Medha Patkar.

Roy rejected claims made by the Chhattisgarh police as an old trick that was started by Nazi Germany's propaganda specialist Joseph Goebbels.

"They hope to go on lying till their lies are believed. Old trick. Goebbels started it," she wrote in her text message.

"The police sound as though they are high on pot. But all this is part of a campaign," Roy added.

Himanshu Kumar acknowledged that he knows Lingaram Kodopi, a tribal from Sameli village in Bastar. Kumar spoke from Punjab where he is on a bicycle tour to spread awareness about the government's injustices against the tribals in Dantewada.

He said it was a well-planned move by the Chhattisgarh police to cower activists like him and others named in the Indian Express report.

"People like Arundhati Roy, Medha Patkar, Dr Nandini Sundar and me have been successful in exposing the atrocities and high-handedness of the state government and the Union government against the tribals in Chhattisgarh. That is the reason you get to read such reports," he said.

Kumar alleged that Kodopi was abducted by then Dantewada superintendent of police Amresh Mishra eight months ago and detained for over 40 days in a prison toilet. "They wanted him to become an SPO (Special Police Officer who work as part of the Salwa Judum against the Maoists in that area). For 40 days the police tortured him, but he refused to accept their offer."

Mishra was transferred after the April 6 Maoist attack, which left 75 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and one state police constable dead.

Kodopi was released after his family with support from activists like Kumar filed a habeas corpus petition in the Bilaspur high court.

"However, two days later, Lingaram's elder brother Maasa was arrested by the police. But they released him two days later. Then they arrested Lingaram's father after 5 days and detained them for about one month, pressurising him to withdraw the affidavit he had filed detailing prison torture," Kumar said.

He added that activists working in the villages then asked Lingaram Kodopi to move out of Sameli fearing for his life. They advised him to go to Delhi and study journalism. Lingaram, who Kumar says, was admitted to a Delhi journalism college this month, has now become a threat to the district administration in Dantewada.

"As it is, the police fear their atrocities and torture will be exposed. What they fear more is they being exposed by a tribal journalist like Lingaram," he added.

Prasanna D Zore in Mumbai

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/12/arundhati-roy-slams-chhattisgarh-police.htm

 

[Oracle]

Maoists abduct 11 villagers in Bihar

BHABUA (Bihar): Armed Maoists kidnapped 11 villagers from Loda village in Kaimur district and also took away their licensed weapons.

A group of 60 Maoists kidnapped the villagers last night, Director General of Police Neelmani said on Monday.

They also took away the licensed firearms of the villagers, he said.

The Special Task Force of the police assisted by CRPF was combing nearby areas in search of the villagers. Senior police officials were at the spot.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...11-villagers-in-Bihar/articleshow/6157766.cms

 

[Oracle]

Naxals attack NMDC office in Chhattisgarh

Around 50 armed Naxals attacked a complex of state-owned National Mineral Development Corporation, which is said to house large quantities of explosives, triggering a gunbattle with Central Industrial Security Force personnel guarding the key economic installation on Monday night.

Official sources said the Naxals attacked the premises of the firm in Kirandul on Monday evening and an encounter is currently on with the CISF personnel.

There was, however, no immediate report of any casualty on either side.

Sources said the Maoists entered the Corporation complex and burnt some vehicles. The complex is said to have large quantity of explosives used in mining.

The attack was apparently aimed at looting explosives from the NMDC complex, said the sources.

NMDC currently operates a number of mines in Bailadila hills of the district. The Kirandul mine, which is known as Bailadila-14 mine, is the first large scale open cast

mechanised iron ore mine in India for which Detailed Project Report was prepared by the NMDC.

The mine has the distinction of having unique down-the-hill conveyor system passing through a tunnel to transport iron ore from crushing plant to processing plant.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/12/naxal-attack-nmdc-office-in-chhattisgarh.htm

 

[nandu]

More helicopters for logistic support to Naxal-hit states

New Delhi: The Centre will provide more helicopters for logistic support to Naxal-infested states to help in troop movement, reaching supplies and evacuation.

Home Minister P Chidambaram set the ball rolling today at the crucial Centre-State meeting on tackling the Naxal menace by listing decisions on Central support to states and asking the Chief Ministers to use the forum for a frank discussion.

The Prime Minister is chairing the day-long meeting.

Chidambaram admitted that "the efforts of the state governments, assisted by Central paramilitary forces, have met with mixed results," and said in view of the experience of the last six months, the Centre would,

*Provide more helicopters for logistic support, troop movement, supplies and evacuation;

* Fund the establishment and strengthening of 400 police stations in the affected districts at the rate of Rs 2 crore per police station on an 80:20 basis over a period of two years;

* Sanction additional SPOs to the States;

* Request the governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal to create a Unified Command for anti-Naxal operations; request them to appoint a retired Major General of the Army as a member of the Unified Command; request the four State Governments to appoint an IG as IG (anti-Naxal operations) for that state; and to appoint an IG, CRPF as IG (Operations) for that State to work in close coordination with the IG (anti-Naxal operations) of that State;

* Set up an empowered group chaired by Member-Secretary, Planning Commission to modify existing norms/guidelines in the implementation of various development schemes having regard to the local needs and conditions in the affected districts;

* Advise the state governments to implement PESA strictly and vigorously; in particular, to ensure that rights over minor forest produce was assigned to the Gram Sabhas and the inter-position of Government controlled departments/ corporations/cooperatives are removed;

* Improve road connectivity in 34 districts most affected by Left Wing Extremism. A number of roads and bridges are proposed to be included, at a cost of Rs.950 crore, by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways under RRP-I.

* Consider, along with the Planning Commission, a Special Development Plan for the affected districts/States with emphasis on road connectivity, primary education, primary health care and drinking water.

The Home Minister requested the Governors and CMs of the states to bring to the table "the things that we are doing right and the things that we are doing wrong and that we can have a free and frank discussion on this very serious subject."

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, pointing out that his views might be at variance with those of some others, called for an integrated approach to tackle Naxalism. He said, "enforcement action alone leads to wider alienation, making heroes out of leaders.

Naxal elements, Nitish said, were "part of our society. Even though they were misled into following the path."

The Bihar CM, who has been at odds with the Centre on the Naxal issue, said his state had not received enough support from the Centre. He said Bihar needed 12,000 more constables and was waiting for approval.

He pointed out that his state shared an open border with Nepal and needed extra support.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/more-helicopters-for-logistic-support-to-naxal-hit-states-37386

 

[SHASH2K2]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Nitish-slams-Centre-for-lack-of-support-to-fight-Naxalism/H1-Article1-572246.aspx

Attacking the central government, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said it was not providing adequate support to his state for tackling naxalism which he warned could not be defeated by "enforcement action alone". He also questioned the Planning Commission's integrated action plan for development of naxal-affected areas, saying it covered only 35 of the 83 such districts and the rest would remain backward, thus hampering efforts to solve the problem.

Addressing a meeting of Naxal-affected states convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here, Kumar underlined that "naxal elements are a part of our society even though they have been misled into following the path of violence."

He pressed for an "integrated approach" to deal with the problem and said "Enforcement action alone leads to wider alienation, making heroes out of the leaders of the extremist organisations and leads to only symptomatic treatment, leaving the underlined disease to reappear in a more virulent form."

Kumar said Left-wing extremism could be tackled through sustained development but this needs the Centre's supportive approach to states like Bihar.

"It cannot be disputed that intensive all-round development is the final solution for the Left-wing extremism problem," he noted.

On Planning Commission's integrated action plan for carrying out developmental work in 35 Naxal-affected districts, he said, "It is recognised that there are 83 Left-wing extremism affected districts all over India. It is not clear as to why only 35 districts have been selected" for integrated development.

"As the remaining 48 districts will continue to remain backward, the problem cannot be solved by leaving the majority of the districts uncovered," Kumar said.

The Chief Minister complained that despite concerns expressed by his government over the Naxal situation and demands for more Central Paramilitary Forces (CPMF), his state has "not received the requisite support from the Central government."

"There has been no change in the number of CPMF companies deployed in Bihar over the last several years," he said, adding that after the last such meeting in October 2009, the number of CPMF was increased in other states but Bihar "did not get a single additional company".

The number of CPMF training establishments in the state should also be increased, he said.

 

[Oracle]

Naxals kill 3 Indians daily: Chidambaram

On an average, Naxals kill at least three persons in as many as six attacks every day. In the first six months of 2010, Maoists carried out a total of 1,103 attacks, in which 534 people were killed.
This was disclosed by Home Minister P Chidambaram while speaking at a meeting of chief ministers to discuss the situation arising out of Maoist violence in the country.

According to the data presented by the home minister, the extremists have killed 325 civilians and 209 security personnel during this period, which is equivalent to three killings daily.

Among the civilians killed by Naxals, 142 were dubbed as police informers -- a trend which saw 500 civilian killings on an average every year between 2004 and 2008. However, Maoists suffered 97 casualties during the same period. A total of 1,341 ultras have also been apprehended.

The major attacks by Naxals this year included the February 15 attack on a Central Reserve Police Force camp at Silda in West Bengal, the Dantewada massacre on April 6, the Chingawaram bus attack and the June 29 attack on security forces in Dhaudhai, Chhattisgarh.

At least 20 paramilitary jawans were killed in the Silda attack, while 75 CRPF personnel and one Chhattisgarh policeman were killed when they were ambushed by over 1,000 Naxals in Dantewada forests.

The attack on a civilian bus at Chingawaram on May 17 claimed the lives of 40 people, including that of 15 special police officers, while at least 26 security forces personnel were killed in an ambush near Dhaudhai on June 29 in the third major attack in Chhattisgarh in the last three months.

Besides, there was the derailment of the Gynaneswari Express by the ultras in Jhargram, West Bengal that claimed the lives of 149 innocent civilians.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/14/naxals-kill-3-indians-daily-says-chidambaram.htm

 

[nandu]

Maoist killed, 4 injured in encounter in W Midnapore

West Midanapore (WB), Jul 16 (PTI) A Maoist was killed and four ultras injured in an encounter with security forces in Janglemahal area of the district today.

The special anti-Naxal force of the CRPF also arrested two suspected Naxalites, Ranjit Rana and Nepali, from the area.

On intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the jungles of Joybadi in Janglemahal area, the 205th battalion of the Special Action Force of the CRPF conducted an operation in the area, a senior CRPF officer said.

The Maoists, believed to be hiding in the jungle for the past few days, fired at the patrolling joint forces leading to the gunbattle in which a Naxalite was killed.

The body of the Naxalite has been recovered, the officer said.

At least four Maoists suffered bullet wounds in the encounter, police said.

The exchange of fire was continuing when last reports came in.

 

[bhramos]

Kumar's 'soft approach' insult to martyrs of Naxalism: Cong

Bihar Congress on Monday accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of adopting a "soft approach" to the Maoist problem, saying his stand on the issue was an insult to the sacrifices made by security personnel in the fight against Naxalism. "The Bihar Chief Minister has called for a 'soft' approach against the Maoists which amounts to


an insult to the thousands of cops and security personnel who have laid down their lives in gun battle with the Maoists," state Congress spokesman Prem Chandra Mishra said in a statement in Patna.
"The NDA government in Bihar has adopted a 'soft' approach against the Maoist as a bargain with the ultras to ensure its victory in the forthcoming assembly polls," he alleged.

Mishra was reacting to Kumar's stand for an integrated approach for development of the Maoist-infested regions under a long term plan to eradicate the Red menace.

Referring to the Chief Minister's plea for a political solution to Maoist violence, the Congress leader asked Kumar to explain initiatives taken by his government in the past five years to bring the ultras in mainstream.

On Kumar's stand that the Maoist were very much part of the society, Mishra said that the ultras should be punished for their criminal acts as was the case with other criminals, who were also very much part of the society.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Kumar...martyrs-of-Naxalism-Cong/Article1-572822.aspx

 

[bhramos]

Naxals kill 15-year-old boy in Orissa

2010-07-15 20:20:00
The Naxals stabbed a 15-year-old boy to death at Handibhanga village in Orissa's Mayurbhanj District on Wednesday night.

Around 30 suspected Maoists, who came looking for the boy's father suspecting him to be a police informer, tied the boy's wrist and then they went at him with a knife.

He bled to death near his house on the Orissa-Bengal border.

This is the first time in Orissa that the extremists have targeted such a young boy.

The killing took place a day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requested the Centre to include Mayurbhanj among the districts eligible for grant of funds under Security Related Expenditure. (ANI)

http://sify.com/news/naxals-kill-15-year-old-boy-in-orissa-news-national-khpuucjdgdh.html

 

[bhramos]

Heads Together

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met seven chief ministers as well as representatives of Naxal-affected states on Wednesday, what marked out this strategy meet from others was the decision to form unified commands for overseeing anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal and Jharkhand - four of the worst affected states. The meeting cleared an eight-point plan, which aims to balance security with a development agenda. The unanimous agreement on four of the eight proposals shows growing political convergence between the Centre and states, ruled by different parties, on the issue. The unified commands, headed by state chief secretaries, will ensure better synergy and coordination among different security forces in the states. That the army has an advisory role in the anti-Maoist strategy has been ensured through the inclusion of a retired major general as a member in the panel. The Centre will also provide helicopters for logistic support, troop movement, supplies and evacuation.

Let's hope all this takes care of future disasters and prevents killings of securitymen and civilians at the hands of Maoists. In addition to the unified commands, a development package for building roads, bridges and 400 new police stations has also been approved. To make tribals stakeholders in governance, the state governments have been advised to strictly implement the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, ensuring that gram sabhas are assigned rights over minor forest produce. Undoubtedly, these are timely steps and critical ingredients in the government's anti-Maoist strategy. Along with security measures it's also important to target pervasive poverty in tribal hinterlands, which calls for greater transparency in governance and a corruption-free administration. A good idea will be to involve civil society organisations to ensure independent monitoring and better delivery of services.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Home/Opinion/Edit-Page/Heads-Together/articleshow/6173166.cms

 

[bhramos]

Joint command to tame Naxals

The Centre and States on Wednesday agreed on a comprehensive set of measures to deal with the growing Naxalite menace. These will include setting up of a unified command for the worst Naxal-affected States, 34 new battalions of India Reserve Battalion and setting up 400 police stations, besides appointment of additional special police officers and deployment of more choppers in the Maoist strongholds.

With the States asserting that development should go side-by-side with armed operations, the Centre also agreed to provide more funds for road building, education and health sector in the Maoist-affected areas.

These were some of the important decisions taken at the meeting of the Chief Ministers of the Naxal-affected States with the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister AK Antony, Chief Ministers Raman Singh, Nitish Kumar, Navin Patnaik, K Rosaiah, Asohk Chavan and Jharkhand Governor MOH Farook attended the meeting. West Bengal has sent a senior Minister Surjya Kanta Mishra for the meet.

While detailing the structure of the Unified Command, Home Minister P Chidambaram said it would be headed by Chief Secretary of the State, like the existing practice in J&K and Assam, to have a better coordination among police, paramilitary and intelligence agencies.

"Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal will appoint an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police as IGP (anti-Naxal operations) for each State, who will be co-ordinating the anti-Naxal operations with their counterparts in the CRPF which has already appointed officers for similar exclusive anti-Naxal duties," Chidambaram said while interacting with media after the meeting.

Chidambaram said the Government has decided to revisit the deployment of paramilitary forces and so far it has been done on Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

"We have also agreed to provide air support to the States. At present, we are facing shortage in providing air support. We offered helicopters for logical support, supplies and evacuation in the Naxal-affected areas," he said.

Earlier, addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister urged for better coordination among the central and State agencies in tackling the Maoist menace. "In case there are issues regarding intelligence sharing or the pattern or nature of CPMF deployment, I would like to hear them," said the PM.

"Before I close, I must reiterate that we cannot afford to let inter-personal issues come in the way of our strategy to tackle Left Wing Extremism. We must be and also appear to be united and one in our resolve and in execution of our strategies.

In particular, I would emphasise the urgent necessity for the central and State forces to work with total coordination and without any misunderstanding about each other," said Singh, asking the Chief Ministers to revert to the proposals made by the Centre.

The meeting, which witnessed a broad consensus on tackling the Left extremism, saw differences between Chidambaram and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the approach in dealing the issue.

Responding to Bihar Chief Minister's comments on the lack of central support to Bihar for tackling the Naxal problem, Chidambaram shot back: "Everybody wants more forces, but he ( Nitish) does not come for the meeting on the deployment on Bihar. That discussion is still pending."

The meeting also cleared the Governments' proposal to fund the establishment and strengthening of 400 police stations in the affected districts at the rate of Rs 2 crore per police station on 80:20 basis over a period of two years.

The meeting approved raising of 34 new battalions of India Reserve Battalion (IRB) for combating Left-wing extremism. It cleared a proposals related to induction of 16,000 more special police officers (SPOs) and exclusive development schemes for the

Maoist-hit States. Currently, 13,500 SPOs are assisting the security agencies in tackling the menace.

The Home Minister said the authorities required a large number of helicopters to help the forces on the ground but only 20 additional helicopters will be received from the Indian Air Force, which is pulling out some of them from UN duties.

Chidambaram said the Planning Commission was considering a special development plan for the affected districts with emphasis on road connectivity, primary education, primary healthcare and drinking water.

"Consultations have been held with the State Governments and it is expected that the plan will be placed before the National Development Council shortly for approval," he said. The Home Minister said the States wanted more and more districts to be included in the Centre's scheme of 'focus district' scheme which so far included the 34 worst Naxal-hit districts.

The States also requested the Centre to include more districts getting into the Security-Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme and increase the number of Counter-Intelligence Training schools. At present, there are 20 CIT schools and 83 districts which get funds under SRE scheme.

The States have been requested to take urgent steps to fill up around 97,000 vacancies in State police forces in the Naxal-affected areas. Asked whether any State requested Army help in its fight against Maoists, the Home Minister said no State Government sought Army help, but requested to provide IAF helicopters for logistical assistance.

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