Jamshedpur, March 10: In view of the Assembly elections in West Bengal and spurt in Naxal violence, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Kolhan) Rajiv Ranjan on Wednesday presided a high-level meeting of senior cops from District Police, CRPF and CoBra Battalion.
The cops brainstormed on how to meet the rebel challenges effectively prior to the assembly elections in Bengal.
“We have found that the ultras have been active in the bordering areas of Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand. They act in one State and easily cross and hide in another State. We have to work together especially during West Bengal polls and share intelligence and records of ultras so that they could be flushed out. We are confident that we will keep a vigil on the ultras and make such arrangements that the elections would be peaceful,” said a police official.
Revealing about the meeting, the DIG, Kolhan said that an effective anti-insurgency operation is being carried out to flush out the ultras.
“Strict vigil against naxalites is being carried out effectively and in bordering areas particularly with Bengal and we need to be more vigilant on our side,” said Singh.
An officer said that they have posted Jharkhand police officers in CRPF camps in Bengal’s border areas because whenever the Bengal police used to carry out operation against CPI-Maoist rebels along the Jharkhand border, the latter would migrate into the Jharkhand, thus causing the Bengal police and the paramilitary forces to be confused.
“Our strategy is to ensure safety at our borders. With this initiative, the Jharkhand cops are posted at the CRPF camps near Bengal,” said the officer. The decision has been taken in view of the assembly elections in Bengal, but going by the response and its effectiveness.
Chakulia, Shyamsunderpur and Dhalbhumgarh police station areas are under the strict vigilance of the forces particularly, Chakulia for its vulnerability to the Maoist-led violence.
“The security personnel deployed in the border areas have been asked to follow the established security norms strictly while on patrolling. Besides, they have been asked to ensure smooth coordination on every front,” said an official.