Holding four Bihar policemen in captivity for two days since the encounter in Lakhiserai killed seven policemen, the Maoists have demanded withdrawal of security forces from the area and the release of eight of their cadres from several jails in the state as preconditions for the release of the policemen.
Bihar DGP Neelmani on Tuesday refused to comply with the left-wing rebels’ conditions and announced that search operations and raids by security forces would be stepped up in southern Bihar to secure the four abducted policemen’s release. Mr Neelmani also held a meeting with the DG of the CRPF, Mr Vikram Srivastava, and chief minister Nitish Kumar, reportedly to fine-tune strategy for tackling the crisis.
The state police headquarters, under attack for the evidently shoddy management of the prolonged encounter with the Maoists on Sunday, officially refused to admit both the captivity of the four policemen and the preconditions set by the Maoists for their release.
Sources in the police, however, claimed both incidents bear credibility and that the police brass was planning to secure their release without giving publicity to the Maoists’ preconditions.
“We do not agree that four of our men have been abducted by the Maoists. What we know as of now is that they have not returned from the encounter site. We are working systematically on this. We also do not know of any preconditions put forth by the Maoists,” Bihar ADGP (headquarters) P.K. Thakur told this newspaper Tuesday evening.
Fresh details about Sunday’s encounter suggest that the joint operations against Maoists hiding in the hilly terrain of Lakhiserai district were carried out without mandatory coordination exercises between the CRPF and the STF. Sources said only 23 security personnel were present in the “joint team” that engaged the Maoists for over 10 hours.
“The sacrifice of the seven policemen, who laid down their lives fighting the Maoists, will not go in vain,” said CRPF DGP Vikram Srivastava after his meeting with Mr Neelmani. Sources said both officers discussed ways to increase coordination.