Need for continuous monitoring of Maoist movements: Telangana DGP

Hyderabad: Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar on Thursday asked the state police to remain alert and stressed the need for continuous monitoring of Maoist movements in the wake of a deadly Naxal attack in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Anjani Kumar held a video conference with police officials of states affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in the state, after 10 police personnel and a civilian driver were killed in a Naxal attack in the Aranpur police station area of Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh on April 26, an official release said here.

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

With the Legislative Assembly Elections approaching (scheduled to be held later this year in Telangana), police officials have to take adequate precautions in terms of security during the visit of political dignitaries and the movement of VVIPs in the state, the DGP said.

There is a possibility of increase in movement of Maoist action teams in the border areas (in districts bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra) of Telangana, and the officials need to be more cautious in this regard, the DGP advised.

After the formation of a separate Telangana state, IT firms and many multinational companies have set up their offices in Hyderabad. In this background, he said that Maoists may act strategically by attacking one sector to create fear among people. Hence, police officials must be alert at all times, the Telangana Police chief said.

Left-Wing Extremism has become nearly non-existent in Telangana due to the continuous efforts of the police department, Anjani Kumar said, adding however that as there are 80 per cent newly recruited policemen in the state, they should be more aware of Maoist strategies, actions and attacks.

Additional DGP (Operations) Vijay Kumar said that special training would be given to 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 police should constantly interact with people at the village level to gather information about the movement of Maoists and newcomers. Especially the police in border villages should take more precautions in this matter, the official added.