Telangana Govt fortifying 24 police stations

Hyderabad: It appears that the government machinery, particularly the Police Department, is anticipating trouble from Maoists in the coming days. And, to be battle-ready, the Police Department is fortifying 24 police stations in the areas affected by LWE (left wing extremism) in Telangana.

New state-of-the-art police stations are being constructed. They look like mini forts and are being constructed in the LWE-affected areas at a total cost of Rs 50 crore.

Each of these 24 police stations will have impenetrable fencing and reinforced sentry points, both at the entry point and on the rooftop, where armed police personnel would keep guard round the clock, sources said.

Although the Maoists are considered to be in hibernation in Telangana, the outfit operating from the jungles of Chhattisgarh and Odisha has been on the lookout for recruits, taking advantage of any dissent among some sections of people. The dissent is growing by the day, paving way for revival of the Maoist movement in the State, the sources told The Hans India.

It is pertinent to mention here Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao’s observation at a recent State level conference of bureaucrats: “There is simmering discontentment among the people. We have to find out the reason for it and where exactly things went wrong.

We have to identify what exactly the people need and try to find solutions. If the discontent among the people crosses its limits, then, some vested interests may take an undue advantage of it.”

Referring to these comments, informed sources in the State police said that the 24 police stations being constructed in the LWE-affected areas would have facilities to accommodate armed personnel posted in that area to conduct combing and security operations.

Further, the government is developing two state-of-the-art police training centers – one in Karimnagar at a cost of Rs 48 crore; and the other one at Medchal, at a cost of Rs 30 crore where police recruits would be trained to be battle-ready. Also, the government is raising two India Reserve Battalions in the State, the sources said.

This being so, recruitment has slowly begun among Maoists circles. The recruits are being trained in what is considered a safe bastion: Chhattisgarh. This time, the Maoists will have good firepower, since they are getting the support of CCOMPOSA (Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia), sources said.

Even as the hush-hush efforts of the State police and the government to fortify its ranks and police stations is on, Director-General of Police (DGP) Anurag Sharma recently said that they would not allow the Maoists to make a comeback in the State.

By B G Rajeswar