Administration and police remaining alarmed over the purported Maoists continuing with their postering and graffiti campaign in several places in Almora district, exhorting the people to eliminate those engaged in the booze trade and threatening to torch all booze vends located in the hills of Almora, the district administration has decided to rope in the forest department officials to clamp down on the left-wing ultras who have remained elusive despite efforts being made to nab them.
Besides, the Almora superintendent of police P Renuka Devi has announced a reward of `10,000 for information leading to arrest of the extremists who are purportedly indulging in the postering and graffiti campaign while working under the command of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Meanwhile, a meeting was held with the Almora district magistrate in the chair on Friday which was attended by the senior administrative, police and forest officials. Apart from the additional district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate, Tehsildar, revenue police, and forest officials have been directed to be vigilant vis-a-vis the continuing Maoists activities.
Throwing challenge to the district administration, the purported Maoists have pasted posters and drawn graffiti on the walls of the important Government buildings several times in a space of one month. Observers say that the areas remaining under the jurisdiction of the Revenue Police are emboldening the alleged Maoists to continue with their anti-boozing campaign. “Regular police cannot act unless summoned by the district magistrate in the wake of serious breakdown of the law and order in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Revenue Police,” says one of the observers.
Speaking of the matter, Devi said that the active assistance from the forest department is an imperative to stamp out the extremist menace. “However, on our part, we have asked the police to be vigilant in the areas where such provocative posters and graffiti are surfacing at regular intervals,” she said.
Pleading their helplessness, she said that regular police cannot intervene unless some serious law and order problem crops up and that too under the instruction of the district administration brass. “Just 30 per cent of the district areas coming under the jurisdiction of the regular police, we can hardly do anything save for putting the force on alert,” she said, while adding that they are convinced that at least a section of the local villagers is actively assisting the purported Maoists in the latter’s campaign for total prohibition in the hills. “This is what is adding to our anxiety,” she said.
Notably, earlier, the State administration had announced a bounty of `50,000 for information leading to the arrest of the two Maoists identified as Keem Singh Bora, resident of Someshwar and Devendra Chamyal, resident of Almora who have been on the run for the past many years.