UP, Bihar police to chalk out plan of coordination

VARANASI: While the UP and Bihar governments are busy respectively in panchayat and assembly poll preparations, the police of both states have intensified efforts to the shadow of Maoists at bay.

Police of both states are going to meet in Varanasi on September 15 to finalise strategies for keeping the polls free of Maoist menace. IG, Varanasi Range, RP Singh told TOI on Sunday that apart from the IG-level officers, junior officials, including deputy SPs and others, could also take part in the proposed meeting. He refuted rumours of any specific input or that mobility of Maoists had increased in the bordering districts of UP and Bihar. But, he said, “keeping the past experiences in view, the precautionary exercise is being done.”

In the past, Maoists had given calls to boycott the democratic process, but they could never succeed in affecting the poll process in the Maoist-affected districts of Sonebhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli. The borders of these districts are linked with the states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where Maoists have shown their presence on regular intervals. Singh said they faced the maximum threat of Maoist menace from Bihar hence a major exercise was needed to guard the bordering areas of UP and Bihar. The reason behind the worries of the cops could be assessed easily by going through the typical topography of the Maoist-affected districts that are full of hills, forest and difficult terrain. After 2004, the Maoists have not succeeded in executing their destructive plans in this region, but whenever the police of neighbouring states have intensified their drives against them, the ultras have made a bid to utilise the terrain of the three districts of Sonebhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli as their safe harbour.

Keeping the same facts in view, provision for meetings of senior police officials of the affected states had been made to increase coordination among them. However, for a long time, no such meeting had been organised. Singh admitted that the inter-state coordination meeting for checking the Maoist menace had not taken place for the past many months. He said during the proposed meeting, strategies would be chalked out to exchange intelligence not only about the Maoists but also about the inter-state criminals and gangs as well as communal sensitivity.

He said the proposed meet of the UP and Bihar police would be followed by a series of meetings with the police of other states. Such meeting would be conducted at SP level, added Singh. The IG said issues of development in the Maoist-affected areas were already being tackled by the state. He said huge deployment of forces in the Maoist-affected districts and round-the-clock alertness had foiled the bids of ultras to enter the region. He said they would maintain the same vigil in the coming days. He claimed proper coordination between the police of both states would also help keep anti-social elements at bay during the poll process.

Read more: UP, Bihar police to chalk out plan of coordination – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/UP-Bihar-police-to-chalk-out-plan-of-coordination/articleshow/6542049.cms#ixzz0zRn8XFXx