RAIPUR: The setting up of a security force camp at the tactical location of Sonpur in strife-torn Narayanpur district has given Bastar police an edge in the psychological war against Naxalites ahead of the Assembly polls.
“Now, people will be able to vote without fear in their respective areas. It’s a big morale boost for the locals who are willing to exercise their franchise,” Vivekanand Sinha, Bastar inspector general of police, said.
In the midst of a poll boycott call and persistent threat by the rebels to tribal villagers to desist from casting their votes during the first phase of polling on November 12, as many as 62 lower range committee cadres decided to shun violence and surrendered with their weapons before the Bastar IG and Narayanpur district police chief Jitendra Shukla at Sonpur, about 350 km south of Raipur. The ones who surrendered came with their muzzle loading guns, referred to as Bharmar guns locally. The development is seen as a huge boost not just for local tribals but also for the forces, as a surrender on such scale before or during the elections never happened in Chhattisgarh earlier.
“Around 20 km away from the Narayanpur district headquarters, a police camp for the special task forces (STF), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and District Reserve Guards (DRG) was set up at Sonpur around three weeks ago. Since there was no security camp in the region, tribals, who were forced to engage with the Maoists, were left with no option but to follow the diktat of the rebels. The new camp emboldened them (the militia cadres) to gradually reached out to the police forces, who were already involved in anti-Maoist operations and the village-contact programme. The cadres of Maoist’s Jantana Sarkar had expressed their willingness to join the mainstream,” Sinha said.
The Sonpur camp is also likely to have hardened the resolve of the villagers to persuade Naxalites to surrender.“The surrendered naxals belonged to Jantana sarkar of Sonpur, Sitapur, Pichmeta, Tumradhi, Becha and Taranar”, the IG said. “These cadres were disillusioned with the anti-development ideology of the Maoists,” Narayanpur SP Shukla said.
Morale booster
■ As many as 62 lower range commitee cadres decided to shun violence and surrendered with their weapons before the Bastar IG and Narayanpur district police chief Jitendra Shukla at Sonpur
■ The development is seen as a huge boost not just for local tribals but also for the forces, as a surrender on such scale before or during the elections never happened in Chhattisgarh earlier.