Four states worst affected by Maoist violence have started the process of creating a Unified Command structure for streamlining anti-Naxal operations.
The commands, to be based in capitals of the four states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orrisa and West Bengal, will be headed by their respective chief secretaries.
The other members will be the state Director General of Police, the Development Commissioner of the state, Inspectors General (anti-Naxal operations) of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), an official of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and an official of the state intelligence along with a retired Major General rank officer of the Army.
According to sources the Unified Commands will be in place and start functioning very soon.
The decision to create a Unified Command structure in these states — on the lines of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam — was taken at a meeting of chief ministers of Naxal-affected states chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with home minister P. Chidambaram on July 14 in the national capital.
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Accused get bail, father sad
Dharamsala/New Delhi : A fast-track court in Himachal Pradesh has granted bail to four accused in the Aman Kachroo ragging case, an order which his father said would send a “wrong message”.
Judge Purinder Vaidya had on Saturday granted bail to Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, who were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, on bond of Rs 50,000 each. Aman (19), a first year MBBS student at Rajindra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda (Kangra), was allegedly thrashed by his seniors and he subsequently died on March 8, 2009. The incident sparked an uproar.
The judge said since the statements of the witnesses have been recorded and material evidence taken into account, the accused were given bail. “The decision is a big disappointment even though this is a matter between the state and the accused. We are not driven by vengeance but they being out on bail conveys a wrong message,” Aman’s father Raj Kachroo said. “Definitely, it’s a setback,” he said. The Supreme Court had directed all state governments to constitute committees to look into such incidents. —PTI