'Community policing' bearing fruits

Chandauli/Sonebhadra, June 28: The-three pronged strategy of 'policing', 'community policing' and 'development' adopted by the Uttar Pradesh government is bearing fruits as naxalites active in the Vindhya-Kaimoor range in the state have taken a beating.

The effective implementation of the strategy in Chandauli, Sonbhadra and Mirzapur -- the three naxal-infested UP districts -- has sent the extremists running for cover.

Despite the porous border UP shares with hyper-sensitive states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar, naxal activities are on the wane.

For the first time, each of the three districts has been equipped with anti-mine vehicles, night vision devices, modern weapons and additional field forces comprising 13 PAC and six CRP companies. The last year has been the period, when effective combing in the treacherous terrain has seen the police gain total area domination.

''No major naxal incident has been reported since 2004, when a PAC truck was blown up in Chandauli killing 15 policemen. This suggests, naxalism could be weeded out from UP,'' state Director General of Police (DGP) Bua Singh told UNI here.

Following the merger of outlawed PWG and MCC, the extremist elements now belong to CPI (Maoist) cadre base.

Identifying naxalism as a social problem and ruling out any possibility of UP naxalism in UP "receiving oxygen from Nepal, erstwhile PWG elements in Andhra Pradesh or LTTE in Sri Lanka," the state government is adopting a 'hot-cold' method to root out the menace.

With Inspector General of Police (Varanasi range) designated as the coordinating officer of anti-naxal operations and the police of threenaxal affected districts equipped with latest weaponary and other logsitics, the resolve of the UP government to end the security challenge is gaining ground.

A total of 60 naxalites have been arrested and four others killed during the last year -- prompting the naxal top brass to withdraw cadres from Chandauli, Sonbhadra and Mirzapur.

As many as 23 police stations and 568 villages of the three districts have faced naxal threat since 1997, when the first naxalite incident was reported in UP. Of these, Sonebhadra -- having the most difficult terrain in the Kaimoor range of forest and hills -- has been the worst affected with 12 police stations and 254 villages under the threat.

Anti-naxal movement, which was launched a few years ago, gained momentum last year with the launching of several central and state government schemes. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has already announced a Rs 200 crore package for the development of the area.

To bring the vulnerable youth in the naxal-affected areas into the mainstream of society, the state government will recruit unemployed youth in India Reserve Battalion (IRB) -- a new battalion being raised in UP on the lines of PAC.

The process for recruitment would start from July 5 and mostly tribal youth would get an opportunity to be part of it, subject to minimum qualification, Mr Bua Singh added.

''It is part of the UP government's bigger design of 'community policing' to stop youth from getting misguided by naxalites in Chanduali, Sonebhadra and Mirzapur districts,'' he informed.

It was observed in over 500 naxal affected villages of UP, the unemployed youth living in tribal areas were susceptible to joining naxal groups -- at will or under pressure.

''This endeavour will not only get them employment, but serve as an example for others to join the mainstream. We have identified the areas and people, which are soft targets for extremists, although the naxalite activities in UP are not ostensible,'' he claimed.

''We have also identified elements, sheltering naxalite elements either willingly or under duress,'' the DGP confided.

Recently, a group of 200 youth from Sonebhadra was brought to the state capital and sensitised about their larger role in society.

In Chandauli, 'community policing' in the form of schools in tribal areas, organising sports activities and bringing in basic health facilities is evident in the region. ''There are cases when villagers refused shelters to Naxalites,'' R K Chaturvedi, Superintendent of Police, Chanduali, told a visiting groups of reporters. He claimed no fresh recruitment in naxal groups had come to the notice in the last year.

Incidentally, Chandauli has the dubious distinction of having seen the worst incident of naxal violence in 2004. ''Effective policing has busted the myth of 'Din Hamara Raat Tumhari', when the security forces used to patrol only in day time, while naxals moved at night,'' he said claiming, round-the-clock vigil had astounded the naxalites.

Sonebhadra -- with over half of the area under dense forest cover -- perhaps is the most difficult terrain for security forces, who are compelled to walk for days during combing operations.

''However, combings are spot on and naxalite activities have been contained in the district,'' Raghubir Lal, SP, Sonebhadra said.

The villages of Maholi, Kudaiala, Khuraila, Satari, Chichri, Pindamganj, Pokharia along the Jharkhand, Bihar and Chattisgarh borders are now comparatively peaceful, he asserted.

Mr Lal said there had been intelligence inputs of naxalites targeting police stations and even police lines in Sonebhadra, but effective vigil had restricted their nefarious designs.

There are about 24 listed naxalites wanted by the police in these districts with Sanjay Kol, Ram Vricha and Lalvrata as their leaders.

They have, however, been pushed out of the state limits as per the intelligence reports.

''The wave of development is another weapon, being used to counter naxalism with emphasis on roads, education, health in the backward areas,'' the DGP underlined. ''Roads were an absolute neccessity in this difficult topography.'' In the three districts, development projects were in place and the progress monitored on a monthly basis at the state government, as well as at the Centre, he maintained.

UNI