KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, Nov 23: Police are on high alert in Kolhan as the outlawed naxal outfit; CPI-Maoist has given a call for Jharkhand, Bihar, UP and Chhattisgarh bandh to protest the arrest of the outfit’s top leader Prashant Bose.
The police have been prompted to take extra precautionary measures as the rebel outfit gave the bandh call back to back the Bharat bandh call observed on Saturday.
Intelligence sources revealed that as the arrest of Prashant Bose recently seems to have broken the backbone of the outfit, the naxals have become desperate for keeping their movement intact in absence of their leader.
Sources said the outlawed outfit has given a fresh bandh call for an extended period of three days and must be aimed at making its presence felt by resorting to subversive acts.
The naxal bandh call is already effective from Tuesday midnight to continue till Thursday midnight.
West Singhbhum SP, Ajay Linda said they came to know about a fresh naxal bandh call on Monday evening only.
“As the 72-hour bandh call is back to back the Bharat bandh call observed on November 20, we consider the naxals may try to trigger violent acts during the fresh bandh call,” said Linda.
The senior police officer said they have therefore decided to give a befitting response if the naxals try to come overground during the bandh call period.
“We have put the police and paramilitary forces on high alert at all the strategic areas in the district. We have also started patrolling the railway tracks along with the Railway Protection Force as the rebels may target the tracks for triggering subversive acts during the bandh call,” said the police officer.
Like the West Singhbhum police, police of East Singhbhum and adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan districts have beefed up the security arrangements in view of the three-day-long bandh call.
Prashant Bose (80) who is CPI-MAOIST politburo member and second top naxal leader in the country was arrested along with five others including his wife from Kandra thana area in the Seraikela-Kharsawan district on November 12. Presently, Bose is lodged at Hotwar central jail in Ranchi.
