Government pitches for replicating AP model to tackle Naxal menace

The annual Chief Ministers’ Conference on June 5 would have a special two hour session on the growing Maoist influence in nine states.

The annual Chief Ministers’ Conference on June 5 would have a special two hour session on the growing Maoist influence in nine states.

Sources said the Centre was preparing a blueprint based on the Andhra Pradesh model, which involved strengthening of local police stations, police training at district level and raising of an effective intelligence apparatus to tackle Naxalism.

During the special session, the Andhra Pradesh Government would give a 20-minute presentation on the strategies adopted by it to sanitise the Maoist-infested areas to the representatives from the states of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde would also seek consent from state governments to launch joint operation involving a large number of troops from the central armed forces to flush out Naxals from so-called liberated zones. He is likely to convey that the central security forces are well-equipped and well-trained to coordinate in anti-Naxal operations.  In the aftermath of the May 25 attack in Chhattisgarh, the Centre would also discuss the issue of taking Army help in providing logistical support. Since law and order is a state subject, the Centre wanted all affected states on the board.

Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the credit to neutralise Naxal leadership in Andhra Pradesh went to the intelligence and also the effective implementation of surrender and rehabilitation policy of Naxal cadre, which they would convey to other states.  “They have penetrated deep in the areas once controlled by Maoists and with the active support of technical intelligence in the form of phone interception, special force Greyhounds was able to surprise the Naxals on several occasion.  More than the special forces operation, it was the intelligence that made encounters in Andhra Pradesh successful. In other states, informers have no penetration in the villages critical for operations of security forces,” sources said.

Dr P V Ramana, an expert on Naxal issue, said the Centre has been asking other states to replicate some of measures taken by Andhra Pradesh since 2006. He said the states would have to establish political consensus first, followed by strengthening their security mechanism.

“Victim assurance policy, modernisation of police force and effective implementation of development programmes such as self help groups and ‘Janmabhumi’ of the Andhra model could be adopted by other states,” he said.

The MHA would also suggest the idea of raising a special force within the state police for anti-Naxal operations.  The force personnel would be trained by senior officials of the CoBRA and Greyhounds in jungle warfare. The issue of lack of coordination between state intelligence agencies and central armed forces would also be discussed threadbare.  A senior official said real-time intelligence was a big problem in anti-Naxal operations, delaying the deployment of security forces.

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