West Singhbhum police sound high alert following intelligence report

Jamshedpur, Jan 19: The West Singhbhum police have sounded a high alert to the security posts in Saranda after an intelligence report that a squad of CPI (Maoist) rebels has sneaked into the sprawling forest from the neighbouring Sundergarh district of Odisha.

The Maoist ultras recently made their presence felt by triggering a blast. Five CRPF jawans were injured in an IED blast triggered  at a jungle under the Tonto police station area of West Singhbhum district.

The Maoist squad is said to have entered Saranda on Wednesday night from the bordering Sundergarh district by taking advantage of dense fog prevailing in Saranda where the minimum temperature is varying between 2-3 degree Celsius.

Revealing about the situation, an official said to have put the police stations, thana out-posts

and post of paramilitary forces CRPF as well as Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) on high alert after they got an intelligence input that a big squad of Maoist have crossed into the Saranda forest from Odisha’s bordering district.

“In view of the spurt of naxal violence in the district, we had already intensified the ongoing operation here, but after the fresh intelligence inputs, we had to issue a high alert,” said an official.

The senior police officer said that the forces have been asked to remain extra vigilant at their posts and also during the anti-insurgency operations which include the long range patrolling (LRP) and combing operation.

When asked, he could not say exactly how many rebels were there in the squad, but said that it was a big squad.  He said they are trying to find out the location of the rebel squad so that the necessary strategy can be followed to eliminate them outright.

The special operation which began in the past fortnight continues day and night, during which as many as two battalions of CRPF and one battalion of IRB are engaged in the LRP and combing operation.   The operation had beguan in December end, after a series of fresh naxal violence.

The Maoist had been trying to set their foot in Saranda, but due to launching of the fresh anti-insurgency operation, the rebels had not been able to enter into the forest.

“But the spell of dense fog during the last few days in Saranda forest has given the rebels an opportunity to enter into the forest by using the fog as a cover.  When the night temperature at Manoharpur was on Tuesday recorded at 3 degree Celsius, the temperature at Kiriburu

around the same time it had plunged to 2 degree Celsius,” said the sources in the intelligence department.

“We have intensified our raid as we assume that the rebels might have arranged some meeting deep inside the jungle.  Generally, the Maoists meet during the observation of martyr week, when they review their activities and make fresh plans,” said the superintendent of police.

According to intelligence sources, the rebels are trying to observe the martyr week by organising small meetings at a number of places in West Singhbhum and adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district, and Chowka jungle is one of the probable venues for such meeting.