Following the abduction of Sukna collector Alex Paul Menon by Maoists, former Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, who was abducted two years ago by Naxals in Orissa, said that it has become an occupational hazard for civil servants to work in Naxal-affected areas. He also said that the Naxals have been under a lot of pressure due to focused developmental works being carried out under Integrated Action Plan (IAP). He added that abduction of Mr Menon could have been to secure reprieve against ongoing security operations for the extremist outfit.
Strongly contesting criticism that Mr Menon went with inadequate security, Mr Krishna said that it’s not a question of being surrounded by security personnel only, as roads in those areas are heavily mined. “Just few days back the collector of Bijapur, Rajat, survived a landmine blast, as he had decided to sit in some other vehicle than the normal one. The problem is of the terrain, which is mostly hilly and forested, with extensive mined roads. We are in a very difficult situation,” said Mr Krishna.
The Maoists also appear to have identified civil servants as their foes due to government’s aggressive attempt to take developmental activities to the tribal areas. “Earlier the Maoists were targeting only the security personnel. However, they have abandoned the distinction and are now clearly targeting the civil servants too. This practice began about two years ago,” said Mr Krishna, who is now working with the Union minister of rural development Jairam Ramesh.
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Centre, c’garh finetune joint strategy
NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA
NEW DELHI, APRIL 24
Sending out a clear message that the Centre and the Chattisgarh government are on the same page to tackle the Maoist hostage crisis, the Union home ministry met the top state police brass here on Tuesday to finetune the “joint” strategy to secure the speedy release of abducted IAS officer and Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon.
At a time when the state government is moving towards initiating negotiations with the Maoists to free the collector, the state police brass has sought increased technical support from the home ministry and improved coordination in intelligence sharing to avoid a situation where the Naxals gain the upper hand. Unmanned Arial Vehicles are doing surveillance of the areas where the collector may have been kept hostage and is tracking Maoists movements on the borders of Chattisgarh. The meeting is being seen as a positive shift from the ongoing hostage crisis in Orissa where the Naveen Patnaik government is making its own efforts to secure the release of BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka. “The Chattisgarh government does not want to be seen as bending to each and every demand of the Maoists but begin negotiations on a more equal footing,” a government official said.
Government sources said that an emergency or contingency plan to mobilise forces along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border is in the works especially in view of the collector’s critical health conditions even as the state government is trying to send in medicines through various channels.