Raipur chaos

“Naxalites have brains which is why the government of India, the Raman Singh government and all of us are unable to do anything’’ – former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi, July 12, 2012

In the light of the current crisis in Chhattisgarh triggered off by the Maoist attack of May 25 which claimed 30 lives, most of them senior Congress stalwarts, Jogi's point is worth taking note of. Two years ago, then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram categorically asserted that “we have not launched Operation Greenhunt’’ (against Maoists). His successor Sushil Kumar Shinde, on a visit to Chhattisgarh last week reiterated on the contrary, that “Operation Greenhunt will continue with full vigor.’’

Who is correct? According to former Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwaranjan, the battle against heavily-armed Maoists can be won only when three conditions are met: one, that the attack launched by the state be a pre-emptive one, two that security forces have better arms and ammunition and three, that there is a plan of action on ground when a Maoist outrage takes place.

As events in the last two weeks have shown, all the three pre-conditions have not been met and the government is clueless on how to tackle red ultras. Local Congress leader Chauleshwar Chandrakar, who was also injured in the attack, flashes a photo which shows four commandos by his side. “When the attack occurred in Darba Ghati, they were nowhere in sight,’’ he remembers.

Remembers former state DGP JB Singh who had earlier served as SP Bastar, “In 2008, there were exactly 12 police personnel in Darba Ghati. It is not difficult to imagine how the Maoists would have dominated them.’’

As inquiries into the attack now reveal, it appears prima facie to be a case of police failure. According to CRPF DG Pranay Sahay, pictures taken by an unmanned aircraft in the Darba Ghati area clearly reveal the presence of armed groups converging at various points, a signal enough for security forces to move in and nip the trouble in the bud.

According to well placed sources in the government, the state’s home department had turned down a proposal to buy Israeli-manufactured unmanned vehicle. Says Vishwaranjan: “This vehicle, estimated to cost Rs 20 crore, is ideal for defusing land mines and pressure bombs. If we had this facility, incidents like Chintlanar where 76 police personnel were killed, would not have occurred. From my experience, before a major political meeting, the local police sanitises the area and Naxals get no chance of grouping together. This exercise seems to have been ignored in Darba Ghati.’’ It becomes even more galling that extremists had been planning such an attack for some time now and that crucial information was overlooked. Three days before Darba Ghati, Maoists had set up an ambush for a Congress meeting attended by Union minister Jairam Ramesh and senior leader Anil Shastri at Bhairamgarh. On police advice, the two leaders changed their route at the last minute, a move that irked the Maoists who then attacked a mine clearing police party in retaliation for their timely tip. Bijapur SP Prashant Agrawal confirmed to TSI that there was exchange of fire between Maoists and the police “but it is difficult to say whether the attack was meant for Congress leaders attending the rally.’’

MLAs in the state are peeved that while they have no protection while touring affected areas, the officialdom rarely ventures out of their well appointed offices and when they do, it is under heavy police guard. Things had reached such a pass that 30 Congress MLAs in the Chhattisgarh assembly offered to quit en masse if their security was not upgraded, a demand which was reluctantly agreed to by the state government.

Points out Bheema Mandavi, BJP’s Dantewada legislator who has in the past put his own party on the mat on the issue of Naxalites, “I have written to the state government about protection but so far I have not heard anything from them. The Darba Ghati killings should be seen in that light.’’ Legislators like him are apprehensive about their security after May 25.

That there are wheels within wheels became obvious when newly-appointed state Congress president Charan Das Mahant on a hospital visit to see injured party MLA Kawasi Lakma asked him - in full view of TV cameras - why he had held the meeting at such a place and how he had survived the attack. Mahant is seen telling Lakma not to talk to the media until the investigations were over! Now Lakma is being seen as villain of the piece. The state BJP is now demanding – without taking names – that Lakma take a lie detector test. Lakma represents that region in the state where elections cannot be won without the help of Maoists; whether it is the Congress or the BJP is immaterial. The question being asked therefore is whether Lakma has become a pawn in the larger game? That is a good chance that may well be the case.

Security agencies have obtained mobile phone records of 40 odd people whose calls are being scrutinized on the day of the attack and this includes some police officials. The spotlight has – not oddly – moved on to former CM Ajit Jogi who was being tipped as the new state Congress president. With the appointment of Charandas Mahant, however, the Congress appears to have answered that question quite adequately.

anildwivedi@sundayindian.com