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naxal terror Twenty-seven people have been killed in the latest Maoist carnage in Chhattisgarh. The PM has described the problem as “the single largest threat to India”. But no serious effort has been made in terms of development of the affected areas, choking the economic lifeline of Maoists, or even changing strategy to tackle the growing ‘Red’ terror. By Man Mohan “What the hell is happening?” screamed a middle-aged woman watching a news channel in a South Delhi home. Her family members came rushing to see what had happened. |
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law & order
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Taking on the Reds
Twenty-seven people have been killed in the latest Maoist carnage in Chhattisgarh. The PM has described the problem as “the single largest threat to India”. But no serious effort has been made in terms of development of the affected areas, choking the economic lifeline of Maoists, or even changing strategy to tackle the growing ‘Red’ terror. By Man Mohan “What the hell is happening?” screamed a middle-aged woman watching a news channel in a South Delhi home. Her family members came rushing to see what had happened.
It was a lazy hot evening on May 25, when television screens exploded with breaking news from the lush green jungles of south Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Viewers across the nation were stunned to see a ghastly attack on the convoy of the “parivartan” rally of the Congress by an army of over 200 Maoists, nearly wiping out the party’s top state leadership. The Naxals used grenades, automatic weapons, poisoned arrows, and Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) during the attack on vehicles stuck bumper to bumper. In the bloodbath lasting less than an hour in the hilly jungle tracts of the 10-km-long Darbha Ghati between Jagdalpur and Sukma, more than 25 persons, including Congress leaders, workers, villagers and seven security personnel, were killed. Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and his son Dinesh were abducted and later killed. The biggest “trophy” the Maoists picked up was a popular Maria tribal leader, Mahendra Karma, founder of the anti-Naxal movement called Salwa Judum or “peace march”. Karma’s many family members had been killed in the past. His surviving son Sabindra has been asked by the rebels to leave his native village of Faraspal in Dantewada. Eyewitness account reports say Karma, former CPI and Congress MLA from Dantewada, was stabbed 78 times by a group of women Maoists. Karma, according to a Maoists’ core committee statement, was “killed like a dog for spearheading Salwa Judum”. Congress veteran national leader VC Shukla, who received three bullet injuries, is in a critical condition in a Gurgaon hospital. Confined to a wheelchair, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi survived as he had left Sukma for Raipur in the helicopter of an industrialist after attending the rally. Wild West story Incidentally, the attack on the Congress convoy came four days after the release of a “fact-finding” report by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties of the Chhattisgarh unit. The document detailed the alleged atrocities committed by the security forces in two villages on May 17 and 18.
The Congress rally was meant to counter the “vikas yatra” of the ruling BJP government (which always moves with heavy security) and to woo voters for a change in the Assembly elections in winter. The rally did not have adequate security cover. The police had also not carried out any advance search of the area. The biggest and most gruesome Maoist operation was on April 6, 2012, when they ambushed and massacred 75 men of the 62nd Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the hilly Tadmetla forest near Dantewada. In the recent past, the Naxalities have killed eight CRPF men in Bijapur; blown a civilian bus, killing 36 people, including 12 tribal Special Police Officers, in Naryanpur district; and massacred 26 CRPF men in two ambushes in the same district. Another daring operation that hit the headlines was in May 2012, when the Maoists kidnapped Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon and released him after 13 days. Many have questioned the “secret agreement” the government had struck with the Maoists for securing his release. Maoist spokesperson Gudsa Usendi has claimed that the latest attack was done to take revenge “on behalf of 1,000 innocent tribals who were killed by the Salwa Judum militia and thousands of others who lost their homes”. Besides looking at it as a case of revenge killing, the National Investigation Agency is probing the possibility of a “conspiracy” within the Congress. Under suspicion are those leaders who are likely to benefit from the elimination of top party guns. The BJP government has openly accused Jogi of being behind the incident. In the past, whenever the Centre and the state acted tough against the Maoists, Jogi and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh criticised the action. A local popular Congress MLA, Kawasi Lakhma, has also come under suspicion as he and his guard was let off by the Maoists. It was at Lakhma’s behest that the date and route of the rally was changed. Similarly, many Congress and former Salwa Judum leaders were not touched. “Was it a part of the Maoist strategy to disgrace them with the needle of suspicion hanging over their head and disable the Congress network?” a senior Chhattisgarh police officer wondered. Although the Maoists claim they were looking for an opportunity to go for “just and necessary” killing of so many Congress leaders because of their past deeds related to the exploitation of tribals and targeting the rebels, the timing of the incident has raised many eyebrows. “Were the Maoists hand in glove with rogue elements of the BJP or the Opposition to create a favourable ground for them in the polls?” a central intelligence agency officer asked, saying “either the Maoists are going to take advantage of fear that the incident has generated to field their overground workers or they are going to balance it out by targeting BJP leaders. More than the Congress, it is the BJP that has supported the Salwa Judum movement.” Security forces agree that successive Naxal attacks give the impression that they have the upper hand. “Through our special operations,” a Chhattisgarh police officer claimed, “we are able to hit the Naxal heart that is why the Maoists are edgy.” The Maoists have lost many top guns in recent encounters with the police. Kishenji (55), alias Malojula Koteshwar Rao, was killed near Jharkhand-West Bengal border in 2011 while Cherikuri Rajkumar, alias Azad, was killed in Andhra Pradesh in 2010. Many Maoist sympathisers in civil society have either fled from Chhattisgarh or have stopped coming from far-off places. When top terrorism expert of Chhattisgarh, Brig (retd) BK Ponwar, was told that the rebels were behaving like dare devils, hitting targets at will, he retorted: “They are cowards. They ambush soft targets, which can’t retaliate. They kill and run away.” Ponwar is heading the state’s first Counter-Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker, north Bastar, since it opened in 2005. “Attacks on security forces have decreased in the past few years as the rebels are facing stiff resistance from well-trained jawans. So, they are now attacking big civilian targets to create nationwide scare and keep the morale of their men high,” he says. In many cases, the police is not following the basic rules of jungle warfare, he claims. In the May 25 incident, despite having ‘Z’ category security cover, top politicians were not in bulletproof vehicles and many security personnel were only carrying revolvers, he points out. “Your fight with Naxals starts right at your doorstep. Be careful, else only your body will come back,” Ponwar warns every batch of commandoes. The incident will surely weaken the state’s fight against the Naxals at a time when the BJP is wishing to return to power. The blame game between the BJP and the Congress will help the Maoists as the only thing they fear is the Centre and the state joining hands to deal with them. The gruesome assassination of “Bastar tiger” Karma will also send a chilling message to the tribals opposing the Naxals. It looks like a win-win situation for the rebels.
Military ‘dalam’ Bastar is echoing with Maoists’ war cries, daring the security forces. Entire Chhattisgarh (known as the rice bowl) is reeling under terror. The Naxals have graduated from guerrilla stage to military stage of war and have changed their tactics and strategies. They are now getting ready for mobile or positional warfare. The recent incident was a military-style operation. Similarly, it was an “elite unit” which killed 75 CRPF jawans in Dantewada in 2010. In Chhattisgarh, a dozen “military” companies are operating. So, security forces have to change their strategy to be in military combat position. The Naxals smallest sub-unit is a “dalam” (section of 10 men). The military “dalam” is generally of platoon strength, comprising about 30 people. The Maoists are busy raising an independent brigade formation of highly trained and motivated 4,000 to 5,000 commandoes, mainly for taking the security forces head-on. A brigade is a formidable fighting formation capable of dominating a huge area. Their next step will be to form a division (over 10,000 people). Pointing towards Bastar’s dense forest cover, a top police officer once told this correspondent, “This is India’s Swat valley. Maoists’ writ runs here.” He admitted that the final fight to flush out the Maoists will be far tougher than Pakistan’s fight against the Taliban in the Swat Valley. Naxalism is claiming more lives in the affected states than insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East. The police was alarmed to find a rocket and small-range missile manufacturing unit at a government flat in Bhopal many years ago. The Air Force tried to carry out an aerial surveillance of the Bastar terrain years ago, but withdrew when Naxals shot at one of its helicopters, killing a Flight Sergeant. The IAF has resumed its operations using unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ban The Naxal organisation — CPI-Maoist — was declared a terrorist outfit by the Centre on June 22, 2009, after the merger of the CPI-ML (People’s War Group) with the Marxist Coordination Committee. The ban has failed to control the Naxal menace. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Naxalite problem as “the single largest threat to India”. The Maoist outfit is the only terrorist organisation in the country that is physically controlling a vast stretch of land in the Red Corridor.
Extortion business Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh once described the Maoists as “extortionists”. At gunpoint, Maoists have become billionaires. No serious effort has been made to choke their economic lifeline. They are said to be collecting several thousand crores of rupees through “levy” (protection money) imposed on businessmen, contractors, transporters, government employees, including policemen, private and public sector mines and other establishments. The maximum money comes from the business of “tendu” leaves. Naxalism is no longer a socio-economic issue. It has become a major terrorism problem. Affected states have no option but to go for a joint counter-operation to flush the Maoists out — a final assault as was done by Sri Lanka to end the LTTE era. “The strategy should be to clear and hold the areas ‘reclaimed’ from the Naxalites. But the wheel of development must move in immediately else the rebels will creep in again. If Colombo can do it, so can we. The Bastar jungles are not that difficult,” claims Ponwar. The Centre and the Chhattisgarh Government are vowing to catch the “red bull” by its horns. But the security agencies at “ground zero” admit that it is going to be a long haul.
Corridor of fear
Maoists at work
Salwa Judum, a banned ‘peace’ force
One has to follow the sequence of the much-maligned people’s movement — later called Salwa Judum (peace march) — against the Maoists to understand the current situation. Besides the security forces, the number one enemy of the Maoists are those tribals who dared to start this movement against them in 2005.
It all started in Bijapur district of Bastar region called Dandakaranya by Maoists. Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman are believed to have spent their 14-year vanvas here. The immediate cause of the movement was seasonal unemployment due to Maoist diktat in 2004-2005 to the tribals not to pluck “tendu” leaves used to make “bidis”. The tribals of 25 villages, especially the Marias, met at Ambeli, Bijapur, on June 5 to voice their dissent. The Maoists retaliated and started killing tribals, forcing them to flee to police stations and government relief camps for safety. Earlier, the Jan Jagaran Abhiyan (people’s awareness movement) was launched by Karma against the Maoists in 1990-91. Even in 1999, tribals in Kanker district had risen in revolt against the Maoists. Two major reasons that led to the Salwa Judum movement were: violence perpetuated by the Maoists and destruction of public and private property. In 2005-2006, the CPI (Maoist) politburo passed resolutions to violently crush Salwa Judum. In 2007, Nandini Sundar, a sociology professor at the Delhi School of Economics, historian Ramachandra Guha, and former Government of India secretary EAS Sarma filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding a ban on Salwa Judum. “Intellectuals and the so-called rights activists have been peddling fiction as fact about tribals’ movement against Maoist violence,” says Vishwa Ranjan, former Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh. “Has anyone wondered why they approached the Supreme Court to ban the Salwa Judum but not the Maoists?” he asks.
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law & order THE past has a way of catching up. When Nishan Singh, barely 19, abducted a minor girl from a downtown area of Faridkot on September 24 last year, beat up her parents, and opened fire at area residents, he thought he would have his way through his rich status, influence of a politician-uncle and “helpful” policemen. After all, he had a long list of criminal cases against him, including attempt to murder, and had already abducted the same girl, not yet 17, earlier as well and stayed with her for over a month. And there was no police action in any of the cases.
He was becoming some sort of a “folklore” in the city with his devil-may-care attitude towards law and society. He could have had his way, but for one thing — the people. Nishan forgot that a society may tolerate an individual like him only up to a certain point. Once the line is crossed, no matter how powerful the individual, society gets him. The might of the people coming together to fight for the hapless parents of the girl, despite her contradictory statements, is what makes this case different from the hundreds of rape and kidnapping incidents. Those who knew the aggrieved family, those who were at the receiving end of the wayward Nishan and his friends, and people with a sense of justice dared to stand against the culprits and ensure that they are brought to book for their crimes. No wonder, the landmark double life imprisonment awarded to Nishan Singh by District and Sessions Judge Archana Puri specially mentions the role of society. Perusal of the 119-page judgment in the September 24 case and the 58-page judgment in the June 25 incident makes it clear that it was a judgment for the people, of the people and by the people.
“The court must hear the loud cry for justice by society in cases of heinous crime of rape and respond by imposition of proper sentence. Public abhorrence of the crime needs reflection through imposition of appropriate sentence by the court,” the judge said. She further ruled that in this case, family affluence and youthful excitement were the factors that led to the crime which traumatised the young girl, who shall be haunted by the memory. Coming down heavily on the increasing cases of rape and crime in the country, the judge noted: “Of late, crime against women in general and rape in particular is on the increase. A rapist not only violates the victim’s privacy and personal integrity, but also inevitably causes serious traumatising nailing of the victim for no fault of her. Rape is not merely a physical assault, but it is often destructive of the whole personality of the victim. A murder destroys the body, but a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female.” The victimThe victim turned 16 this May, and at this young age she has already been in the centre of one of the most talked about rape cases of the state in recent times. She was held in captivity for two months at different times by a gang of criminals, and also conceived. From a small town, she has seen life in places like Goa and Chandigarh and has lived in the best of hotels (in captivity). She has also been to police stations and Nari Niketan, Jalandhar. As per initial reports, she was close to Nishan Singh. The fact that she frequently changed her statements caused much confusion. But as stated in the judgment, she was under 16 and hence her consent or lack of it did not matter. She was at an impressionable age and physically incapable of defending herself. The judgment clarifies that the criminals forced her to toe their line, threatening to eliminate her family. It also states this was the reason why she did not raise the alarm even while roaming in public. A big question mark stares the girl. Will she be able to live free of the incident? Will she finish her education? Will she get married? She has shut herself to the world. Will the society that stood by her, be there for her? The criminal In his statement before the court, Nishan Singh describes himself as an affluent and handsome boy with plenty of urban and rural property. He belongs to a respectable family that lives in a double-storeyed house in the posh Harindera Nagar, about 100 metres away from the Faridkot SSP’s residence. Known as a brat, he was on a crime spree for the last five years, but due to his wealth and political connections, no strict action was taken against him. He became a full-fledged criminal and his fearlessness made him brazen enough to drag a girl from her house in front of hundreds of people and inflict serious injuries on her family. His father was a Captain in the Army and served with the prestigious “The Guards” regiment. He met with an accident early and was paralysed waist down. His friend and politician, Dimpy Samra, now a co-convict in the case, was associated with the family for long. The raw energy of Nishan, known for daring assaults on rival gangsters, may have been channelised into becoming a fine officer if his father was alive, believes a neighbour. But that was not to be. He was in class V when Nishan dropped out of Sanawar School, and later from a convent school in Faridkot, where the girl was his classmate. Nishan suffered another blow when his only sibling, an elder sister, allegedly committed suicide at her in-laws house in Kotkapura. The unbridled love of his mother Navjot Kaur (also convicted) and Dimpy Samra, and plenty of cash saw him changing cars frequently, wearing the best of clothes and carrying expensive phones. “He wanted to be a don,” says one of his close friends. “He would insist we call him Nishan ‘bhai’. He loved weapons and high-speed cars. He met with several accidents while performing stunts. He loved shooting and played violent video games,” he says. Nishan gave freebies to his friends and stood by them, but never trusted anyone. “He had this particular trait. He never trusted anyone. If he was called for a movie or at some place by a friend or a girl, he would reach there before time and show himself only when he thought it was safe. He had stopped taking food from others. At ‘dhabas’, he would ensure the food was cooked in front of him,” his friend says, agreeing Nishan could have been stopped had the law been strict with him. “He enjoyed the clout of his uncle. He learnt early that he could get away with crime as long as he was a juvenile. He got the patronage of senior police officers, due to which he got away even after urinating outside an SHO’s house and throwing bottles at a police station,” he says. No wonder, the police initially defended him and said it was a case of elopement. It even released the picture of the girl with Nishan during their “wedding”. The police had to eat a humble pie as it had violated law by revealing the identity of the rape victim. Was it elopement? The defence argued that Nishan and the girl were in love and exchanged gifts and letters. She went with him willingly and no force was used. The judgment, however, said under Section 375, IPC, intercourse with a woman under the age of 16 fell within the purview of rape even if it was with consent. The cases Before kidnapping the girl on September 24, Nishan had committed 21 crimes. He had kidnapped the same girl in June 2012. The police had booked him for rape and kidnapping but neither did the society nor media take note of it. But the September 24 incident drew everyone’s attention due to the sheer brazenness of the crime. People got together and launched a sustained protest against the accused. “It was because of this unique initiative that we succeeded in getting justice for our daughter,” says the victim’s mother, an LIC employee. “I want her to overcome the trauma she underwent in the last 11 months. I want her to resume her studies,” says her father, a dealer of old vehicles. “I’m proud of my daughter. She is brave. Despite her tender age and legal grilling by advocates defending Nishan and others, she was unwavering,” he says. “I believe time is the best healer. She intended to appear for her matriculation examination this March, but the Punjab School Education Board did not allow her due to her long absence from school.” The September 24 incident was the end of people’s tolerance and Nishan Singh met his nemesis,” says NK Jeet, an advocate and adviser of Lok Morcha Punjab, a voluntary organisation. Jeet fought the girl’s case and played a pivotal role in leading the protracted public agitation. “Many victims of Nishan’s wrath joined hands, but several voluntary, social and religious wings also came together to root out such depravity from society,” says Buta Singh, a retired teacher and a member of the action committee formed to fight the gang. “We salute the courage of the victim’s family that it did not relent despite many pressures,” says Bhupinder Singh Sangatpura, another action committee member. Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner of Faridkot, says it’s important to show concern and sensitivity while dealing with public anxiety, but a better law and order situation is required to ensure women’s security. Most of the culprits are in their early 20s. As adolescents are among the most vulnerable in the demographic group, the Punjab Legal Service Authority (PLSA) is educating school students about gender sensitivity, and imparting them moral and legal education to make them responsible, law-abiding citizens. After establishing Students Legal Literacy Clubs in all government high and senior secondary schools and selecting 25 students in every school as its members, the PLSA is organising seminars and meetings in schools; educating students to desist from attitude or behaviour that brings them in confrontation with law; and take the help of law in day-to-day life while dealing with a crisis. The PLSA is not relying on an official format. It holds question-answer sessions in which students raise all kinds of questions relating to routine problems they face in their social and family life, says Rakesh Mittal, secretary of the District Legal Service Authority. With the dictum “Ignorance of law is no excuse”, the young students are taught law in a simple language so that do not involve in any act which may jeopardise their future. “The aim of the legal literacy clubs is to spread legal awareness among youngsters and bring about a change in society. In our day-to-day lives, we encounter legal situations, therefore it is a must for us to know how to take the help of the law,” says
Mittal. HE CALLED IT LOVE
June 25, 2012: Minor kidnapped by Nishan Singh. July 27: Girl escapes; case of kidnap-rape registered against Nishan. Sept 23: Nishan is seen sitting in VVIP gallery during Punjab Deputy CM's visit on the final day of Baba Farid Mela. Sept 24: Nishan and his accomplices barge into girl's house, drag her by hair and bundle her into a car; shots fired into the air; multiple injuries inflicted on girl's family. Sept 25: Public protests police inaction. Sept 27: Nishan takes girl to Gurgaon; prepares fake documents. Sept 28: Nishan leaves for Goa; DIG claims girl went with him willingly. Oct 6: DIG releases wedding photos and letters “written” by the girl. Oct 9: Massive response to district bandh call. Oct 11: SSP, DIG transferred. Oct 17: Police team dispatched to Goa. Oct 21: Nishan arrested. Dec 26: Police files charge sheet. Jan 16, 2013: Charges framed against Nishan, 19 others Feb 5: Hearing starts on day-to-day basis. May 27: Court convicts 10 of the 20 accused.
The 10 convicted
Barring Akali politician Dimpy Samra, Nishan’s mother Navjot Kaur, and Pankaj Gautam, all the other accused in the case are in their late teens or 20s. Nishan Singh (19): double life imprisonment for rape, kidnapping, causing grievous hurt, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Navot Kaur (Nishan’s mother, 60): criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Maninderjit Singh, alias Dimpy Samra (52), family friend: Conspiracy, kidnapping, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Rajwinder Singh, alias Ghali (22), friend: kidnapping, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, grievous injury, rioting, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Toofan Singh, alias Toofani (23), friend: kidnapping, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, grievous injury, rioting, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Varinder Kumar, alias Dhalla (21), friend: kidnapping, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, grievous injury, rioting, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Pardeep Singh, alias Poppy (20), friend: kidnapping, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, grievous injury, rioting, armed with deadly weapon; sentenced to seven years. Bikramjit Singh, alias Bikram (27), friend: criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, member of unlawful assembly; sentenced to seven years. Harsimran Singh Brar (25), friend: criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, member of unlawful assembly; sentenced to seven years. Pankaj Gautam, alias Rinku (35), friend: criminal conspiracy and harbouring criminals; sentenced to seven years.
Bound by law, not emotions
The conviction of Nishan Singh and others is a big police success. We always try to perform our duty in accordance with the law. We try to reform first-time offenders, but to prevent the growth of such criminals, the role of parents and society is bigger than ours. The police is bound by law, not
emotions. |
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