RAIPUR: The Kanker police in Chhattisgarh, amid the ongoing offensive against Maoists, have heightened a parallel search campaign, putting up posters and banners carrying the identity of ‘Wanted Naxals’ across sensitive villages and interior locations of the district.
The police have also appealed to locals for support, asking them to provide alerts about the whereabouts of senior Maoists carrying rewards on their heads.
The strategically placed posters display coloured images and names of top Maoist leaders, ranging from a bounty of Rs 1 crore to others carrying rewards of Rs 1 lakh. Most of the ‘Wanted Naxals’ fall into Rs 40 lakh and Rs 25 lakh award categories.
Alongside urging Maoists to give up violence and join the mainstream, the banners also inform villagers that anyone providing information about the ultras will be rewarded, with strict confidentiality assured.
The initiative aims to strengthen the tactical fight against left-wing extremists whose senior cadres, often in civilian dress, continue to visit villages and tribal hamlets unnoticed by locals.
“Usually people are unaware of who the Maoist leaders are, particularly the top naxals. They need to stay informed. Now they can recognise and inform the police. However, the intended reason behind this campaign is also to induce the senior Maoists to surrender. The state government’s main focus is to ensure their surrender, facilitate rehabilitation and join the mainstream of society,” Indira Kalyan Elesela, Kanker district police chief, told TNIE.
The posters promise rewards for informants. It was in the inhospitable Kalpad forested hilly terrain of Kanker last year that 29 Maoists were killed by security forces in the biggest offensive against the banned outfit, just days ahead of the Lok Sabha polling.
The impact of the onslaught in Kanker later reverberated across other districts of the Bastar range, prompting similar offensive actions.
For the first time, ‘Wanted Naxals’ posters in remote areas are grabbing public attention. Many villagers were seen keenly observing, discussing, and reading the printed details on the banners.
The Kanker police believe that with the local population content with the development works in their regions, they will extend support to this campaign as well.
Kanker is among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the Bastar zone of south Chhattisgarh.