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May 30, 2011
NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government feels that the recent Maoist ambush in Nuapada district of Orissa in which nine police personnel including an additional superintendent of police were killed exposes the complete lack of cooperation between states in dealing with extremist violence.
In this particular case, even 16 hours after the ambush inside the Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Orissa, not one police personnel from the local police station reached the spot. They stayed away knowing full well that a police patrol team from the neighbouring province had been attacked and brutally killed within their state borders. The Chhattisgarh officials rued the fact that Orissa policemen were not there at the spot even when the bodies of the slain personnel were carried away in a chopper the next morning.
Senior officials of the Chhattisgarh administration in Raipur said that it was the sheer misfortune of the additional superintendent of police Rajesh Powar that his car broke down in the middle of the forest. He had to travel some distance inside the forest to borrow a tractor to tow away his car. It was only on their way back with the tractor hauling the vehicle that they were ambushed about 15 km inside Orissa territory.
The incident happened around 4 pm last Monday and the Chhattisgarh police came to know about it later in the evening. The reinforcements reached the spot early next morning. The Orissa police stayed away. "We didn't really expect them to provide support but, at least, they could have extended some courtesy and been there when the bodies were being taken away," a senior Chhattisgarh official said.
When contacted, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh did not want to be dragged into a controversy but he said that he would reiterate the "need for an integrated action plan" during his next visit to Delhi. He said that there was no "cohesive approach" at this point of time. He added that he would bring this incident happening near the border between two states to the notice of both PM and Home minister.
Raman Singh said, "I won't blame anybody because it was our operation and we take complete responsibility for it. But the fact remains that there is no long-term strategy to deal with the Maoist problem. It is regrettable that every time we move a step forward we are forced to take a step back. The biggest challenge we need to overcome is the internal politics in the ruling party (Congress) on the Naxal menace."
There is no doubt that the Maoists are taking advantage of these shortcomings especially lack of cooperation among states. Chhattisgarh officials believe that they are paying an additional price for seriously taking on the Maoists. In neighbouring Orissa or Jharkhand, where the government has taken a much more lenient view of the problem, the Maoists have learnt to cohabit with the state administration.
"They leave the district headquarters to the state machinery but their writ runs large in other parts of the district," the Chhattisgarh officials said. The Maoists are taking advantage of this compromise, according to them. They cited the recent incident of freeing the abducted DM of Malkangiri RV Krishna as an example of the Orissa government giving in easily to the unfair demands of the armed extremists.
The Orissa DGP Manmohan Praharaj said that he had received no complaints from the Chhattisgarh police. He pointed out that the distance between the district headquarters of Nuapada and the spot in Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary where the ambush happened was close to 100 km. "It wasn't possible to make that journey through the largely forested area in the night," he said.
There is another worry for the Chhattisgarh administration. The Maoists are mutilating bodies with inexplicable savagery in recent times. In the case of these nine policemen, the Maoists appeared to have used a weapon like an axe after spraying them with bullets.
Maoist mayhem rises as states fail to coordinate - The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The Chhattisgarh government feels that the recent Maoist ambush in Nuapada district of Orissa in which nine police personnel including an additional superintendent of police were killed exposes the complete lack of cooperation between states in dealing with extremist violence.
In this particular case, even 16 hours after the ambush inside the Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Orissa, not one police personnel from the local police station reached the spot. They stayed away knowing full well that a police patrol team from the neighbouring province had been attacked and brutally killed within their state borders. The Chhattisgarh officials rued the fact that Orissa policemen were not there at the spot even when the bodies of the slain personnel were carried away in a chopper the next morning.
Senior officials of the Chhattisgarh administration in Raipur said that it was the sheer misfortune of the additional superintendent of police Rajesh Powar that his car broke down in the middle of the forest. He had to travel some distance inside the forest to borrow a tractor to tow away his car. It was only on their way back with the tractor hauling the vehicle that they were ambushed about 15 km inside Orissa territory.
The incident happened around 4 pm last Monday and the Chhattisgarh police came to know about it later in the evening. The reinforcements reached the spot early next morning. The Orissa police stayed away. "We didn't really expect them to provide support but, at least, they could have extended some courtesy and been there when the bodies were being taken away," a senior Chhattisgarh official said.
When contacted, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh did not want to be dragged into a controversy but he said that he would reiterate the "need for an integrated action plan" during his next visit to Delhi. He said that there was no "cohesive approach" at this point of time. He added that he would bring this incident happening near the border between two states to the notice of both PM and Home minister.
Raman Singh said, "I won't blame anybody because it was our operation and we take complete responsibility for it. But the fact remains that there is no long-term strategy to deal with the Maoist problem. It is regrettable that every time we move a step forward we are forced to take a step back. The biggest challenge we need to overcome is the internal politics in the ruling party (Congress) on the Naxal menace."
There is no doubt that the Maoists are taking advantage of these shortcomings especially lack of cooperation among states. Chhattisgarh officials believe that they are paying an additional price for seriously taking on the Maoists. In neighbouring Orissa or Jharkhand, where the government has taken a much more lenient view of the problem, the Maoists have learnt to cohabit with the state administration.
"They leave the district headquarters to the state machinery but their writ runs large in other parts of the district," the Chhattisgarh officials said. The Maoists are taking advantage of this compromise, according to them. They cited the recent incident of freeing the abducted DM of Malkangiri RV Krishna as an example of the Orissa government giving in easily to the unfair demands of the armed extremists.
The Orissa DGP Manmohan Praharaj said that he had received no complaints from the Chhattisgarh police. He pointed out that the distance between the district headquarters of Nuapada and the spot in Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary where the ambush happened was close to 100 km. "It wasn't possible to make that journey through the largely forested area in the night," he said.
There is another worry for the Chhattisgarh administration. The Maoists are mutilating bodies with inexplicable savagery in recent times. In the case of these nine policemen, the Maoists appeared to have used a weapon like an axe after spraying them with bullets.
Maoist mayhem rises as states fail to coordinate - The Times of India
