RAIPUR: Apart from battling the banned CPI (Maoist) cadre in the hostile jungle terrain of Chhattisgarh, security forces are confronted with another challenge – winning the minds of the people -- even as the state facilitates development in the restive areas.
Realising that the side on which people are wins the war, the Bastar police launched Amcho Bastar Amcho Police” (Our Bastar – Our Police). The initiative is a tactical, new way of community policing with the aim to bridge the gap and gain confidence of tribals.
Bastar SP Arif Sheikh, along with senior police officers like Bastar DIG P Sunderraj and IG Vivekananda Sinha, has worked extensively on safety outreach programmes to try and change the villagers’ perspective towards security forces. Sheikh is the only IPS officer in the country to have won the community policing award for the second consecutive year.
The initiative seems to be working as Shiekh and his team was presented with an award in the ‘homeland security’ category at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Awards at Pennsylvania, USA.
“This approach has been devised by the Bastar police as a combined strategy to battle the three-decade-old Naxal problem and also befriend villagers, who are usually reclusive. Through this programme, we generate awareness among villagers about the detrimental activities of Naxals and also try to understand their problems,” Sheikh said.
The initiative is also aimed at counselling and rehabilitating the Maoist child cadres (Bal Sangham), who are used as informers, conduits and for planting explosives. As part of the programme, the police officers took time off and participated in traditional activities, dined with the villagers and also heard their problems.
The IACP identifies and rewards the best practices in community policing by recognising police organisations which use power of collaboration and partnerships to make local, national and global communities safer from crime and terrorism. A total of 15 different awards were given in various categories.
Sheikh was presented with the same award, usually termed ‘the Oscar of community policing’ in 2016 when he was serving as the SP of Balod district, where he ensured security of people who were falling prey to various cyber crimes with the successful e-Raksha programme.