Author: Saugar Sengupta
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 18, 2004
There is a concerted roar from Chief
Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and State CPI-M Anil Biswas in favour
of fighting the Naxal menace politically. Concurrently there is a mew from
the Left Government's approved musclemen, the police, in favour of taking
on the Red terror.
Close on the heel of Mr Biswas'
public avowal that the Left would combat its extremist doppelganger at
the political battle field and through an effective administrative crackdown,
some police officials have expressed deep anguish at being transferred
to the Naxalite-affected West Midnapore district. Among the bravehearts
are three experienced station house officers from the neighbouring Hooghly
district who have since fallen sick and fallen back on medico-legal provisions.
Even as top police officials including
Additional Director General of Police Ajay Prasad said there was no escaping
the procedural nets and the officials concerned have to accept their assigned
jobs, a host of others maintained the Government in its bid to prove a
point or two to the extremists is being too hard on the officials. The
weaponry provided to the men is outdated and is outclassed by those carried
by the Naxalites, said a senior official. "Repeated pleas for better equipment
have failed to yield results at a time when our men and informers are being
butchered by the Naxalites in the dense jungles of Midnapore and Purulia."
According to reports three officers-in-charge
- Sankha Biswas of Chinsurah police station, Samir Ranjan Lala of Bhadreshwar
and Arijit Dasgupta of Dankuni - who have been transferred to West Midnapore
have since proceeded on sick leave and moved the State administrative tribunal
in tandem to resist the "injustice" being done to them by a section of
the CPI-M "as we enjoy the patronage of a second group" of the same party.
This may not be entirely false but
they have to follow the service norms said a senior official. Mr Lala a
senior officer has pleaded that he is not only very senior approaching
retirement hence unfit for operations in a zone that needs alacrity but
he is also suffering from acute diabetes for which he has to repeatedly
visit Kolkata which is near his current place of posting. "The administration
could have done better by posting younger officers in the area and there
are 20 of them in the district... we have been singled out as a result
of intra-party rivalry," an officer said.
West Midnapore and neighbouring
Purulia have of late seen a focused attack by the naxalites often sneaking
in from the neighbouring Jharkhand. According to reports 14 police and
para-military personnel have perished this year alone in attacks whereas
a number of others have been injured in stepped up actions by the ultras.
Meanwhile, politburo member Mr Biswas held forth: There was no question
of compromise with the Naxalites who have strengthened the reactionary
forces behind the veneer of Leftist movement.
