M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Nov.19: Two national highways and two railway divisions that pass through Palamu district have kept the police on tenterhooks in the wake of CPI Maoists’ bandh announced by the banned outlaw organisation on November 20.
The two national highways are NH 75 and 98.
The length of NH 75 combined with NH 98 is 97 kilometres from Satbarwa to Harihurganj. Similarly, NH 75 from Satbarwa to Garhwa via B More comes to around 74 kilometres.
The stretch of NH 98 which starts from the Parwa police station towards Bihar’s Aurangabad has two ‘ghatees’, Kanda and Sultani, and both have a notoriety for the extremism.
NH 75 that connects Daltonganj to Garhwa is relatively easier. The 30 kilometre stretch of general road between Chhatarpur and Japla has had a history of street fight and bombing of the police with the extremists in the past.
A few ‘pahars’ like Kala Pahar as its name suggests itself have a dark history of losses of lives of both the cops and the extremists in the past, said sources.
The long porous border with Bihar further doubles up the agony of Palamu in situations like the Maoist bandh.
Similarly, the two railway divisions are Dhanbad and Mughalsarai now called Pandit Deendayal Upadhaya that pass through Palamu.
Mughalsarai railway division has more railway stations in this district than the Dhanbad division.
Railways have always been a soft target of the Maoists and the vulnerability of tracks gets high in the Maoists bandh every time.
SP Palamu Chandan Kr Sinha said that police across the district have stepped up their crackdown on the Maoists and their supporters. There are accomplices of the Maoists who are above ground and they need to be nailed down. He declined to share as to how many Maoists supporters or in his words ‘accomplices’ are under the scanner of the police.
ADG Ops Sanjay Anand Lathkar has gone on record saying that SPs have been asked by DGP Neeraj Sinha to foil and abort any design of the Maoists.
Since Daltonganj has no rural tag to it, the issue of Maoists bandh does not make police officers here any more nightmarish.
