In a clear shift from its previous stand, the Bihar government has now agreed to support central government?s mega anti-Naxal offensive – Operation Green Hunt. Bihar government till date held that ?Naxalism cannot be tackled with force?.
In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Bihar director general of Police (DGP) Neelmani said the state was ?very much in favour of supporting Operation Greenhunt as and when the Centre decided to do so.?
He said, ?unnecessary confusion was created on the state?s ambivalence or even opposition? to the Centre?s move. ?We had in fact started raising our own anti-Naxal force on lines of Andhra Pradesh?s STF in the absence of the Centre meeting demands of additional forces,? said the DGP. Thirty of 38 Bihar districts are Naxal-affected. Of these, 15 districts, including Patna fall in the very sensitive ?A? category.
The DGP said, ?We want immediate augmentation of special anti-Naxal force. We had asked for 14 battalions (roughly 14,000 armed forces) but have not been given a single battalion so far?. The state police have only 23 CRPF battalions and 400-man STF to deal with ultras. The killing of 11 dalits and tribals in Jamui last month was the biggest Naxal incident in recent times.
Now supporting Operation Green Hunt is a big shift in the state government?s policy in view of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar previously not toeing the Centre?s line. Kumar very often maintained that ultras cannot be treated as criminals or terrorists?.
Nitish Kumar had also invited the Centre?s displeasure by not attending Kolkata meet on anti-Naxal strategy called by home minister P Chidambaram about six weeks ago. This move will have its political interpretations as well with Nitish earlier toeing railway minister Mamata Banerjee?s ?soft line? on Maoist.
Bihar DGP Neelmani, who took over last month, said besides massive augmentation of specialised forces in the state, the Centre must also equip the state with ?wherewithal to seize levy collection, freeze bank accounts and detect white collar investments by ultras?.
DGP Neelmani said the state needed a proper balance between administrative intervention and police action. Bihar government has been carrying out a comprehensive welfare scheme – Aapki sarkar, aapke dwar, in Naxal-infested areas and carrying strong police action as well. We have arrested 1,811 ultras in last three years?.
He said while several Maoists had turned a bunch of goons, it would be only harsh to call them terrorists. ?As several backward villages still hold ultras as their saviours, the government needs a devoted plan of action?, said the DGP. Asked to comment on Chidambaram?s claims of eradicating ultras in three years, Neelmani said he was not a ?competent person to comment on what the home minister said?. The DGP, however, said his 15 years of anti-Naxal engagements taught him that Naxalism needed a comprehensive mix of police action and welfare schemes.
Though the police had been working in tandem with Intelligence Bureau, the state must be provided with more intelligence inputs on non-banking investments of ultras and on lavish life styles of top Maoist leaders, he added. ?We need some quality catches to tighten the noose around ultras? operation?, said Neelmani, adding how it desperately needed a devoted band of officers to deploy in red corridor. Neelmani conceded no police officer wanted posting in areas bordering Jharkhand.