Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said the security forces will fight the Maoists to the finish in Kumandih jungle in latehar spreading over 50-60 square km, where they have surrounded around 300 ultras, including some top ranking ones.
"They should either surrender or face the bullets. They can't escape as we have deployed troops at all the possible exit points," he told The Pioneer in an interview. The security forces have been engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels in latehar jungle for the last 11 days. There have been several close encounters and police have claimed to have killed seven to eight of the ultras. The Maoists, however, have denied that they suffered any casualty.
"Intercepted communication among the rebels also show that many of them have suffered serious injuries," said Kumar, who has himself frequently led the troops in the Naxal zone. "Rains have made our task difficult, but we are determined and not going to leave the area," the DGP said, while monitoring the operation from the State police headquarters.
"They can't shift their base either as we have intensified the operation in the entire State, particularly in the wake of killing of Pakur SP Amarjit Balihar and five other policemen. This is perhaps for the first time that we are running the offensive against Maoists during monsoon when the visibility in the forest areas is vastly decreased," Kumar said.
The DGP said five companies of forces drawn from Jharkhand Armed Police and Indian Reserve Battalions were deployed on Thursday to the existing strength of 1,500 troops fighting the Maoists since June 24. "I have been told that Maoists have sent us a feeler through a pamphlet that they should be allowed to make an escape, but our commitment is total," he maintained.
The DGP said he had inputs that the middle and lower rank Maoists were fed up with the pitched battle with the troops. But the top ranking Maoists, including Arvindji and Birsaiji are still not ready to give up. They are not getting adequate food and other essentials. Kumar said these Maoists were said to be from Jharkhand and had assembled in the jungle to hold a training camp.
The DGP said the Maoists ambushed the police convoy in in Dumka killing Pakur SP and five others just to divert our attention and resources. They are really feeling the heat, he added. Kumar asserted that the Maoists were still to consolidate their position in Santhal Pargana. There are said to be three groups and each of them does not have more than 15-20 men.
"Though the Maoists' presence in Santhal Pargana has been there for the last five years, but my assessment is that they don't have formidable strength. That Balihar could speak to the office incharge of Amarapara after the ambush shows that they were not in huge numbers during the incident near Kathikund," he added.
"But we have to check them right now. There are some areas, including those in East Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Koderma and Giridih which had earlier witnessed formidable presence of Naxals. But these districts are now comparatively peaceful. So, there is no reason why we can't regain Santhal Pargana," the DGP said. "It is good that the SPs of three districts - Godda, Pakur and Dumka-are leading the operations and we are hopeful of getting at the killers. The killer Maoists have not crossed over to Bengal and are still in Sundar Paharai areas of Santhal Pargana," the DGP said.
He said the West Bengal police had extended all help during our operations. "We had a meeting with the Bengal DGP some two months back. Recently, the DIGs and SPs of bordering districts held a meeting to ensure coordination," he pointed out.