Fear has driven as many as 40 men of a special anti-Maoist police outfit to desert their posts in Orissa’s red corridor, reports Subrat Dash
Not one, not two, not three, but as many as 40 members of the Orissa Special Striking Force (OSSF) are on the run from Maoists.
These ‘brave’ men have been underground since last year after a blast masterminded by Maoist extremists. Along with the absconding policemen, a Micro UGI 9mm rifle has gone missing. The rifle, made in Israel, can fire 1400 rounds in a minute and costs Rs 5 lakh. It is the most sophisticated weapon in the armoury of Orissa police.
To save face, the state police honchos have done their best to keep the embarrassing information under wraps. But TSI has managed to ferret out the truth from sources in the know. This disconcerting story goes back to June 17, 2009, when armed Maoists captured the block headquarters of Narayana Patana in Koraput district. They obstructed all traffic leading to the place by cutting down big trees and dumping large stones on the road. Normal life was paralysed due to shortage of essential commodities. The task of freeing the place from the Maoists was assigned to the newly formed OSSF, a battalion of retired army jawans.
Narayana Patana is nearly 30 km from the district headquarters. Within an hour, the battalion reached the town’s entrance point to remove the road blocks. The combing operation started at 10 am, but was short-lived. Nine jawans of OSSF escorting an armed vehicle were killed in a powerful landmine explosion. In panic, 40 men of the special anti-Naxal outfit fled from the spot.
Fear psychosis is on the rise among policemen stationed in Maoist-infested areas. As many 22 of the 30 districts of Orissa are affected by the ‘menace’ of Maoism and policemen in these parts of the state are running scared. The challenge before the Orissa government is to re-examine the mental preparedness of its paramilitary forces as well as police personnel pressed into anti-Maoist operations. In the last two years, over 100 specially trained Orissa policemen have lost their lives in the ongoing war on Maoist extremists.
Government figures reveal that in 2008 alone more than 56 Naxal-related incidents occurred in which 74 jawans and 22 civilians were killed. Though government records are not available for the year, in 2009 more than 50 police personnel and an identical number of civilians were killed in Maoist attacks.
A retired police officer says: “Since the February 2007 Nayagarh attack, in which 15 policemen were killed by Maoists at gun-point, the morale of the Orissa police has been on the downswing. In the last two years, more than 200 police and paramilitary personnel have been killed by Naxals. In contrast, only 30 Naxals have lost their lives in the corresponding period. So the current fear psychosis isn’t an unusual phenomenon."
Not one, not two, not three, but as many as 40 members of the Orissa Special Striking Force (OSSF) are on the run from Maoists.
These ‘brave’ men have been underground since last year after a blast masterminded by Maoist extremists. Along with the absconding policemen, a Micro UGI 9mm rifle has gone missing. The rifle, made in Israel, can fire 1400 rounds in a minute and costs Rs 5 lakh. It is the most sophisticated weapon in the armoury of Orissa police.
To save face, the state police honchos have done their best to keep the embarrassing information under wraps. But TSI has managed to ferret out the truth from sources in the know. This disconcerting story goes back to June 17, 2009, when armed Maoists captured the block headquarters of Narayana Patana in Koraput district. They obstructed all traffic leading to the place by cutting down big trees and dumping large stones on the road. Normal life was paralysed due to shortage of essential commodities. The task of freeing the place from the Maoists was assigned to the newly formed OSSF, a battalion of retired army jawans.
Narayana Patana is nearly 30 km from the district headquarters. Within an hour, the battalion reached the town’s entrance point to remove the road blocks. The combing operation started at 10 am, but was short-lived. Nine jawans of OSSF escorting an armed vehicle were killed in a powerful landmine explosion. In panic, 40 men of the special anti-Naxal outfit fled from the spot.
Fear psychosis is on the rise among policemen stationed in Maoist-infested areas. As many 22 of the 30 districts of Orissa are affected by the ‘menace’ of Maoism and policemen in these parts of the state are running scared. The challenge before the Orissa government is to re-examine the mental preparedness of its paramilitary forces as well as police personnel pressed into anti-Maoist operations. In the last two years, over 100 specially trained Orissa policemen have lost their lives in the ongoing war on Maoist extremists.
Government figures reveal that in 2008 alone more than 56 Naxal-related incidents occurred in which 74 jawans and 22 civilians were killed. Though government records are not available for the year, in 2009 more than 50 police personnel and an identical number of civilians were killed in Maoist attacks.
A retired police officer says: “Since the February 2007 Nayagarh attack, in which 15 policemen were killed by Maoists at gun-point, the morale of the Orissa police has been on the downswing. In the last two years, more than 200 police and paramilitary personnel have been killed by Naxals. In contrast, only 30 Naxals have lost their lives in the corresponding period. So the current fear psychosis isn’t an unusual phenomenon."
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