Tribals don police mantle in Chhattisgarh

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, Jan 24 (UNI) About 5,000 tribal youth, including 300 women, have donned the mantle of assisting the security personnel in the fight against Maoist naxals in Chhattisgarh.

They were recruited as special police officers (SPOs) on a monthly honorarium of Rs 1,500.

These SPOs turned out to be the mainstay of the anti-insurgency movement due to their knowledge of the local tribal dialect and topography of the forest region, from where the rebels have been operating for over two decades.

A majority of the SPOs, including 250 women, have been posted in Bijapur police district, where the government-supported anti-ultra drive 'Salwa Judum' (peace movement) was launched on June 6, 2005.

''However, 38 SPOs were killed in militant attacks and their next of kin were entitled for compensation of Rs 2 lakh,'' Inspector-General (Bastar Range) R K Vij said.

The tribal SPOs were imparted brief training in parade, use of rifles and intelligence gathering besides working as guides to about 18,000 security personnel from other states deployed in anti-naxal operations.

The spectacular performance of the SPOs, several of whom had earlier worked as rebel sympathisers (sangham members), was to wean away the ''misguided'' youth from the influence of the ultras and to motivate them to surrender before the authorities through Salwa Judum, the officer added.

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