Indicating the tough stance of the newly-installed government when it comes to tackling left wing extremism, Jharkhand Chief Secretary Sajal Chakarabarty said on Thursday that the fight against left wing extremism was war and promised to end all Naxal activities in three months’ time.
Chakrabarty was speaking at an press conference organised at the Police Headquarters to present four alleged former left wing extremists who had surrendered to journalists. Three of those who surrendered were members of the PLFI while the fourth was a Section Commander of the CPI-Maoist. All were presented Rs. 50,000 each by Chakrabarty in line with the state’s surrender policy.
On press conference:
DGP of #Jharkhand (hat) & Chief Secretary (to his right) with 4 surrendered LWE members in #Ranchi @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/8wjczbZ6aW
— Deepu Sebastian (@deepusebastian) January 15, 2015
Chakrabarty however said that the three-month plan to end LWE would mean that extremists would not even have time to surrender. “There is no time to surrender now. That train has left the station. If you want to get in, run and try,” he said.
Chakrabarty, who was accompanied by DGP Rajeev Kumar and other senior police officers, said that anti-LWE operations had lost its bite by the end of the last government’s tenure but the new government led by the BJP’s Raghubar Das had given him the green light. “In three months, there will be no active Naxal activity here. For me, the best Naxalite is a dead Naxalite,” he said.
Chakrabarty added that he had no ideology and that he was concerned that essential services were being denied to the people because of LWE. “Mamata Vahans (ambulances to take pregnant women to hospitals and back) are not operating because of Maoists. I don’t care who you are – MCC, CPI-Maoist, PLFI, TPC… run or surrender,” said the Chief Secretary.
He said that the administration would have no mercy for left wing extremists. Calling them thieves, Chakrabarty said the funding sources of such groups – including illegal mining coal and stone – will be identified and stopped. “This is war…It will be like that film Singham. If one policeman can do all that, imagine if all policemen fought against them together,” he said.
