Anti-Maoist operations on in Jharkhand: officials

RANCHI/NEW DELHI - Operations against Maoist guerrillas in Jharkhand continue “as usual”, paramilitary and police officials clarified Thursday following reports that action against the rebels had been halted after Chief Minister Shibu Soren took office.

“Newspapers may report anything. As far as we are concerned, we have not ceased any of our operations anywhere,” Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Special Director General Vijay Raman told IANS over the phone.

Raman, who is based in the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, is the national coordinator of the anti-Maoist offensive across the country.

Jharkhand police spokesperson V.H. Deshmukh also told IANS: “Operations against Maoist guerrillas are going on as usual. There is no question of stopping them. Preparations are underway for special operations against them.”

Government sources added that Maoist operations had been halted in some areas where special preparations were under way.

Chief Minister Shibu Soren Sunday sent out confusing signals when he said before leaving for New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: “Any operation could take place only when Maoists are identified.”

Soren said when he became chief minister Dec 30: “We will talk to the central government over operations against the Maoists. Any such operation cannot take place without the consent of the state government.”

Soren had declared after taking the oath of office: “We are ready to hold talks. Gun for gun will not end terror and violence.”

He fielded three former guerrillas as Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidates in the assembly elections. One of them, Poulus Surin, won from Torpa.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday expressed the hope that the new government in Jharkhand will face up to the Maoist threat following the landmine explosion triggered by the rebels last week that killed seven police personnel and a civilian.

A total of 42 battalions from the CRPF, the Border Security Force (BSF), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are involved in the operations against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa and Maharashtra.

The security forces are largely focusing on Chattisgarh and Jharkhand, which have emerged as the epicentre of the Maoist movement. Last year, over 770 civilians and security personnel were killed in Maoist violence, the largest number of casualties in four years.

In Jharkhand alone, there have been 1,885 incidents of violence since 2006.