Chhattisgarh
Khaki sees red

Transferred to the Naxalite-affected areas, large number of cops are refusing to take up their new postings; afraid that the Maoists may mow them down

By Ajay Sharma

To effectively counter Naxalism in Bastar, the Chhattisgarh home ministry had ordered the transfers of more than 70 sub-inspector- and inspector-level police officers from various districts of the state to the Naxalite-affected districts. Only a handful of them have joined up; the rest have been conscientiously plotting ways to stay out of what is turning out to be India’s ideological Chernobyl.
Both the state police headquarters and the state government are well aware of the refusal by the transferred police officers to take command posts against the Naxalites. And, they are yet to take any action. The refusal of these officials comes even as they have been relieved from their current postings to enable them to take up their new assignments.

Chief minister Raman Singh's declamations of providing adequate force to counter Naxalism are just scribbles on paper. The state government's apathy is merely aggravating the situation.
The source of the trouble is the chokehold that politicians have on Bastar's cops. So far, there have been only official pledges, no action. Nothing beyond cosmetic solutions is ever offered. When the Naxalites' Salva Judum agitation was underway, the cops crawled all over the place—but only for three months. Then everything was back to "normal" ennui.

The system has collapsed completely. Recently, for instance, the Bastar inspector general of police, M W Ansari, temporarily deputed a few police officers posted in Jagdalpur for years to the Naxalite-affected Bijapur area. The decision was prompted by shortage of police officers in this worst-hit of the state’s regions. But the state's director general of police, O P Rathore, cancelled the transfer order “on technical grounds”, saying that it had not come through the proper channels.
The only relief for the cops with their backs up in the affected areas came some time ago from the judiciary: the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the plea of some police officers that had approached it against an order posting them to the Naxalite-affected areas.

Instead of making grandiose announcements, in order to counter the Naxalites, the state government ought to carry out development works on a mammoth scale. This might help alleviate the endemic poverty that is the Naxalites’ best friend.

But all the government seems to have developed is a fetish for creating more police districts, whereas the need is for more revenue districts in the vulnerable areas. No official from any government department is ever likely to be spotted there, and accountability is not a word in the official lexicon. Otherwise, what stops the state government from taking action against the truant officials?

In the far-flung areas, the only official colour visible is the khaki of the lower constabulary, even though the people they have been deployed to protect are more conspicuous in their absence. No one wants to be seen around when the Naxalites begin bumping off the cops with impunity.
The official apathy and fear has obviously handicapped the police department. There is a shortage of senior policemen such as commanders, deputy commanders and DSP's—there is no one around to fill the vacancies. The way matters are being mishandled, even the NSG it seems cannot do much against those dealing out ideological attrition.

Even supercop KPS Gill might feel redundant here—Chhattisgarh is not well-developed, wheat-belt Punjab country. There are no roads or primary health centres or schools or electricity. You wouldn’t call it a state if it didn’t call itself one. And the Naxalites are past-masters at guerrilla warfare: after they are done, the earth splits and they disappear into its impoverished bowels.
There is an abysmal absence of coordination amongst the departments that have been tasked to develop these areas. Both Julio Ribeiro and Gill would probably have thrown up their hands in the face of a recalcitrant administration.

Chief secretary B K S Ray's big-sound speeches are regularly splashed in the papers. But where's the “action taken” report? The least that Ray should do is take the absconding officials to task, and ensure that the villagers' basic needs are taken care of. It's the first step towards upholding not just the rule of law but of progress.