The banned CPI(Maoist) have upped its offensive ahead of the forthcoming party congress during which the outfit will give the call for “intensifying its war against the state’’.
Union home minister P. Chidambaram wrote to Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda a fortnight ago cautioning that Jharkhand was slipping in its anti-Naxal operations and needs to pull up its efforts.
The recent killing of 13 cops in the state in a landmine blast by the Naxals has occurred due to a clear violation of the standard operating procedures, top government sources said.
The Union home ministry has got a preliminary report of the incident which clearly spells out that SOPs were not followed. Last December, security forces faced a similar attack in Latehar district of Jharkhand when eight jawans escorting the former Jharkhand Assembly Speaker and MP Inder Singh Namdhari were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists. Mr Namdhari had escaped narrowly. This time, the cops were escorting municipal council chairperson’s convoy when the Naxals carried out the fatal attack, a government official said.
The fresh Naxal attack has also come of the eve of the Republic Day.
The MHA is expected to send fresh alerts to all Left-wing extremism affected states to maintain high vigil as Maoists may target political leaders, security forces, railway property and other economic targets.
The Maoists’ strategy is to target the security forces and snatch as many arms and ammunition as possible.
Fresh intelligence reports suggest the banned outfit has postponed its Party Congress to be held in February. But intelligence officials feel this could also be a ploy to divert attention. The party congress will choose new leaders to replace the politburo and central committee members arrested by security forces.
Top security officials confessed that in 2007, at the time of the last Party Congress, the security forces had virtually no intelligence on the extensive meet attended by its top commanders. The eight politburo members, more than a dozen CC members and leaders of nearly 15 state committees will be gathering at the venue of the party congress this year.