Naxal order overground supporters to armed activities

Nagpur: The manpower crunch has pushed Naxals in Gadchiroli to rope in their village-based supporters, comprising Area RakshakDal (ARD) and Gram RakshakDal (GRD), for armed activities of the banned outfit. The recent murder of constable BanduWachami by ARD and GRD members of Poyarkoti and Gunderwahi villages underlines the change in the rebel policy.
The Naxals, who have suffered many cadre losses from encounters and desertion, are facing acute shortage of men in their military outfits. In order to make up for the lower cadre strength, the Naxals have issued instructions to ARD and GRD supporters to take up some of the sabotages activities, including triggering blasts, setting government offices afire, targeting informers and Special Police Officers (SPO), among others.
The Naxals have been on the back foot since the government’s revised surrender policy started attracting their cadres in large numbers. They have lost three more cadres this week, who deserted the movement. The three Naxals, including an area committee member, had a reward of Rs12 lakhs on them.
Earlier, the ARD and GRDs managed political activities of Naxals in the villages, including organizing meetings, erecting memorials for martyred cadres, distributing pamphlets and putting up banners. The ARD and GRD also managed the jan-militia or the support base of the Naxals in the villages. They also participated in the party’s activities like recruitment process, ferrying materials and documents apart from providing other logistic support to the cadres. These ARD and GRD members also functioned as potential informer base for the Naxals.
A senior police officer said senior ARD and GRD members already had crude country made revolvers and bharmar rifles, which also served as a kind of identification for them. “The way ARD and GRD members kidnapped Wachami before gunning him down five days later only shows that they are now handling serious crimes on behalf of the Naxals,” he said.
The officer said the Naxals are also not in a mood to spare supporters who have started favouring the police or have become inactive. “The Naxals have never thought twice before gunning down ARD or GRD members in the past too, when they found the victims in fault,” he said.
Superintendent of police, Gadchiroli, Sandip Patil said six ARD and GRD members were arrested for Wachami’s murder. “Police have received concrete input regarding the latest instructions from Naxal top brass to their village-based supporters. Naxals did not have any other option after so many surrenders or deaths of cadres but to engage their supporters in a more active manner,” said Patil.
Police have now started keeping a close vigil on ARDs and GRDs. “We had always been trying to keep pressure on ARD and GRD members by booking them under preventive provisions frequently, but their new role shall bring them under closer scrutiny,” said the SP.
SP denies manhandling of tribals
Superintendent of police, Gadchiroli, Sandip Patil denied the allegations that security forces manhandled tribal. The accusation had come from social worker Dr Prakash Amte. Patil said it is unlikely that personnel from a police station would adopt unnecessary tough policies against local residents.
Gadchiroli police were criticized by Dr Amte last week after villagers were thrashed following the murder of constable Bandu Wachami. Amte had expressed discontentment over the police targeting villagers in retaliation after the murder. Dr Amte had also said that it was upsetting that the police were also denying their role in thrashing villagers.
Patil claimed that villagers had thronged Koti police station on their own after some people were rounded up for questioning in connection with Wachami’s murder. “All the villagers were offered food at the police station. An officer of SDPO rank was also stationed at Koti after Wachami’s kidnapping, who would not allow any kind of atrocities. Police may have resorted to tough interrogations, but there was no thrashing of the masses,” he said.