Telangana DGP warns against complacency in tackling Maoists

Hyderabad: Telangana Police chief Anjani Kumar has warned the police force against complacency in tackling Maoists, especially in areas bordering neighbouring states having Maoist presence.

The Director General of Police (DGP) asked the police personnel not to lower their guard saying the enemy is "very cunning" and "seasoned in ruthlessness".

He held a video conference with police officers of the left-wing extremism-affected districts in the state, in the wake of killing of 10 security personnel and one civilian in a landmine blast in South Bastar of neighbouring Chhattisgarh on April 26.

Addressing the officials, he said that even a small incident relating to law and order in the state may have a severe impact on the development of Telangana. Keeping this in view, the police officers should be more vigilant and tackle the situation firmly.

The DGP said that in the background of approaching Assembly elections, the officials have to take adequate precautions in terms of security during the visits of political dignitaries and VVIPs movement in the state. Stating that there is a possibility of the movement of Maoist action teams increasing in the border areas of the state, he advised the officials to be more cautious in this regard.

He pointed out that after the formation of a separate state, IT industries and many multinational companies have set up their offices in Hyderabad. He said that the Maoists may act strategically by attacking one sector to create fear among people. Therefore, the DGP advised the officers to be alert at all times.

Referring to the extremism activities in the state. he said that Left-wing extremism completely disappeared in Telangana due to continuous efforts of the police. The DGP said that since there are 80 per cent newly-recruited policemen in the state, they should be more aware of Maoist strategies, actions, and attacks.

The DGP noted that while a large number of lives were lost in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, of which Telangana was a part, the problem was contained very largely in Telangana. "But the developments in border areas of Telangana, particularly in south Bastar cause great concern to us. Also the fact that leadership of this outlawed group is in the hands of people from Telangana is a matter of great concern for us," he said.

He said the state cannot afford to have even a smaller incident as it will spoil the entire image of the state and the development march.

"Someone rightly said in fighting a problem like this, we have to be successful every day, every hour, every minute but they have to be successful only once. One incident is enough to negate and spoil entire effort of years of thousands of officers. More than that one incident creates unprecedented demoralising impact not only in police force but society at large.

"Complacency is a great enemy for us and sometimes when we see movement of police officers in border areas forming a convoys and going for a function here and there, it's a matter of great concern. Are we not allowing ourselves to be targeted like that," he asked.

"How much time it takes to study the pattern of movement of policemen in an area. Very easy anybody can do it. How much it takes to plant an IED... 35-40 minutes."

Referring to killing of police officers in Hyderabad, former home minister Madhava Reddy near Hyderabad and the assassination attempts on two former Chief Ministers, the DGP remarked that the element of surprise, selection of place and time and selection of target all things are in the hands of enemy. "The enemy is very cunning and they are seasoned as far as this ruthlessness is concerned. We can't afford to be slack at any given time and at any place," he said.

Additional DG, Greyhounds Vijay Kumar, Additional DG Sanjay Kumar Jain, IG SIB Prabhakar Rao, IGs Chandrasekhar Reddy, Shanawaz Qasim, Officers of all units and border area DSPs were present in the workshop.

Additional DGP, Operations, Vijay Kumar said that a special training will be arranged for the PSOs who are drafted to cover VIPs on the topic of providing security in case of sudden attacks by Maoists and unexpected situations.

IG Prabhakar Rao said the situation of extremism in the state and the security measures to be taken by the police were comprehensively explained through a power point presentation. He said that police should constantly interact with people at village level to gather information about the movement of Maoists and newcomers at the village level, and especially the police of the border villages should take more precautions in this matter.