Copy ready to tackle Naxals

KHAMMAM: Are the police readying themselves up for a major offensive against the Maoists in Khammam district?

Amid reports of Maoist infiltration from neighbouring Chattisgarh along with the migrating Gutti Koya tribals, the Khammam police recently conducted an extensive aerial survey of the interiors of Bhadrachalam Agency for two days. Reported moves to deploy 500 each of CRPF greyhound men and a recent visit of four Greyhound top cops are being seen as a strong indications of a possible showdown between the law-enforcing agencies and the Maoists in the coming days.

Fitted with high resolution cameras, the low-flying chopper surveyed the forest area for two days. The timing is significant as the tree canopies in the forest are denuded due to leaf fall, making it easy to pin-pointedly locate the Naxal lairs and water holes that usually frequent.

According to a senior police officer, Khammam is uniquely placed among the Naxal-infested districts in view of the densely forested border that it shares with Chattisgarh, another Naxal stronghold. The thick forest cover of the Dandakaranya along Khammam-Dantewada-Bijapur border makes it virtually impossible to track the Naxal movements in normal times. Thus, leaf fall season is seen as the best time to reconnoiter.

When contacted, SP Chowhan said the cops were chalking out a strategy to tackle the Naxals in the district and that the aerial surveillance was part of the strategy. Senior officers from Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Orissa recently met at Raipur in Chattisgarh to jointly take on the Naxals.

Khammam is listed among the 33 most Naxal-affected districts in the country and as per police records, there are 50 Maoists operating in Bhadrachalam Agency in seven Dalams. While 30 of them are locals, the remaining belong to neighbouring Warangal and Chattisgarh