THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government seems to be bracing up for a sustained push against left ultras operating in the forests in the northern parts as it has decided to create permanent posts for the Special Operation Group (SOG), which is mainly responsible for tackling left-wing extremism in the state.
The home department recently sanctioned shifting of 46 posts from other police units to the SOG, which was previously known as Anti-Terrorist Squad. Though the special wing was created a decade ago, the SOG has been functioning on working arrangements from other police units. Currently, about 200 men are part of the group, which comprises commandos and men from anti-naxal force.
Since the SOG has been relying on men from other police units, their transfers and promotions affect the functioning of the wing. “Every promotion or transfer order in the battalions affects the structure of SOG and there arises an urgent need to find a suitable person to replace the former official. Hence, the state police chief has requested to shift the required posts from the other police units to SOG, to make it a functional and well-structured organisation,” the government order read.
The SOG has men trained in handling commando operations and has been very successful in diminishing the presence of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), in Kerala forests.
The newly shifted posts include deputy commandant, assistant commandant, armed police inspector, inspector and sub-inspector, among others. The SOG, which is the primary operational unit of the state, is functioning under the direct command and control of SP (Operations), and is supervised by DIG, ATS, who directly reports to the state police chief on all operational matters.
As per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) documents, 78 incidents of left-wing violence were recorded in Kerala from 2000 to 2021. So far, the state police have gunned down eight Maoists in Kerala and all the incidents took place after the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government assumed power in 2016. Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad districts have been included in the Security Related Expenditure Scheme (SRE) of the MHA from 2018. The Central government has since then released Rs 6.67 crore to the state to tackle the menace of left extremism.