Always in news for wrong reasons, Burha Pahar of latehar-Palamu zone and adjoining has graduated into a ‘war zone’ feels none other Jharkhand DGP DK Pandey. Recently on September 20 a young elephant turned collateral when a CPI Maoist land mine killed the innocent animal in Palamu tiger reserve at latu forest and outraged the environmentalists as well as common people.
The Pioneer spoke to the DGP to find out as to how these land mines of would be neutralised from the jungles of PTR. Excerpts of the interview:
A whole range of foot hill of interstate Burha Pahar including latu forest is dotted with Maoists’ land mines. How will you deal with themIJ
This range of Burha Pahar is a war zone. Here is fought war with Maoists like Arvind, Sudhakaran Vishwanath and others. land mining here is not normal one like one or two land mines in any road side or village. Here the Maoists have laid mines on a war pattern.
Can’t you neutralise themIJ
I told you frankly that it is a war zone. And here neutralizing land mines require war technique and strategy. It is not the neutralizing of land mines of normal place. Security forces will have to tread upon here with most caution. Maoists have this network of land mines to keep us at bay since we almost zeroed in on them. The Maoists have killed our state animal. let there be a public outcry against the Maoists. I do not find any civil group coming forward till date to raise voice against this murder of an innocent elephant by Maoists but if any one of them gets knocked down by security forces all hell is broken loose by the civil groups. This elephant was killed in its own house and this is the worst tragedy and Maoists are to be squarely blamed for it.
Have you spoken about this killing of PTR elephant in land mining to any top forest officers hereIJ
I have spoken to PCCF and requested him to raise this case with feverish intensity since this department is also armed with forest act, wild life protection act and these two acts can be easily invoked against Maoists like Arvind, Vishwanath and others equally by PTR officials. This murder of elephant is not the isolated case of wanton killing. About 10 to 12 cattle had met with the same fate all because of Maoists’ land mines there. I have reports that four Maoists too got bumped off by their own laid land mines there in latu and Koojroom areas.