Neighbours duck joint operations against red

Neighbours duck joint operations against red
OUR CORRESPONDENT

Ranchi, Dec. 29: Bengal and Bihar were said to be non-committal in launching a joint offensive with Jharkhand against extremists at the Bhubaneswar meet convened by the Union home ministry to evolve a strategy-coordinated response to the Naxalite menace.

State director general of police (DGP) J. Mahapatra told The Telegraph that his Bengal counterpart cited the political ideology of the CPM-led Bengal government as prohibiting a joint operation against rebels.

The Bihar officers, the DGP claimed, said they do not depend on Jharkhand to contain the Naxalite menace. Claiming to be self-sufficient, the Bihar representatives said their forces had been able to successfully fight the Naxalites, Mahapatra said.

The DGP said the success of the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government in fighting the red menace could be attributed to a number of factors.

First, the AP police enjoyed more freedom. Second, the development projects were expedited to lure away people from the clutches of the extremists. Huge funds were also pumped in to ensure the successful implementation of security-related measures.

Similarly, people’s participation contained extremists in Chhattisgarh. Jharkhand depends on the police alone to fight the Naxalites, the DGP said. He added that their intelligence sharing is perfect with Orissa, while there is active cooperation from Chhattisgarh in launching a joint offensive. But the communication gap with Bengal is going to affect the anti-Naxalite operations, he said.

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