MULUGU/KHAMMAM: Leading the effort to curb Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in Telangana, DGP M Mahender Reddy on Wednesday visited the Maoist-infested areas in the erstwhile districts of Warangal and Khammam and conferred with local officials on strategies adopted to wean away tribal youths from the influence of Maoists.
The DGP also inaugurated a police training centre at Mulugu and Battle Obstacle Assault Course (BOAC) tracks at Jakaram village in Mulugu district and Hemachandrapuram near Kothagudam, and firing range and parade grounds at Hemachandrapuram exclusively. In Mulugu, he unveiled Medaram Sports Torch and distributed blankets to Gothi Koyas.
At both Mulugu and Kothagudem, the DGP said that the police are enlisting the support of the local youths to address the Maoist menace. The intelligence wing too is tracking the movement of the ultras and are taking all measures to keep Maoists away from the State. He said that the State government is providing all facilities for cops working in border districts.
The DGP said that steps are being taken to make Kothagduem a Maoist-free district. He asked the Kothagudem police to prepare youths for police recruitment drive, which the government announced recently. Priority would be given to local youths in their respective districts. He said modern technology is being used to track Maoist activities. The officials are reaching out to youth in rural areas and are educating them not to join the Maoist movement, he added.
According to officials, steps are being taken to engage tribal youths in sports and allied activities to prevent them from coming under Maoists’ influence. As the cadre are eyeing youths for recruitment, cops are trying to be a step ahead of them and are taking the tribal youths away from their reach.For Maoists, reaching out to tribal youths in Dummagudem and Cherla mandals is easy as they are very close to Chhattisgarh border. This is the reason why Maoists operate here frequently. To gain an upper hand over them, local cops are focused on weaning away the youths from them.