The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Extremism: Nepal police being trained in State

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Thursday, Sep 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Extremism: Nepal police being trained in State

By K. Srinivas Reddy

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 15. Even as the Andhra Pradesh Government is continuing its efforts to hold peace talks with the Left Wing extremist party, the CPI-ML People's War (PW), the State police have begun training a contingent of Nepal police in anti-extremist operations.

The rigorous training for the nearly 100-member strong Nepal contingent began on Monday and, interestingly, the Home Minister, K. Jana Reddy, was present at the Grey Hounds headquarters at Gandipet on the city outskirts. The training schedule of the Nepal contingent has been kept as a closely guarded secret and the Grey Hounds campus has always been out of bounds for civilians.

Training module

Sources say that the training modules include non-conventional warfare, essentially meaning jungle warfare, which Grey Hounds, the elite commando force raised by the Andhra Pradesh Government, has mastered. Generally, the training period spans over three months and the Nepal police personnel have been lodged on the campus. Grey Hounds has been recognised as the best institution in the country for training in counter-revolutionary operations and has already trained police forces of different States.

The training of Nepal policemen comes in the backdrop of the Indian Government's support to Nepal in containing the Left Wing extremist problem, which has assumed alarming proportions in the neighbouring country. The Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) has taken control over more than 38 districts. The Indian Government has been showing concern over the expanding influence of Maoists in Nepal since the strengthening of the CPN could have a direct bearing on the States affected by Left-Wing extremism.

Ceasefire extended

What has raised eyebrows is the timing of the arrival of the Nepal team for training in counter-revolutionary operations in Andhra Pradesh. The State Government has been leaving no stone unturned to bring the PW leaders across the negotiating table by halting the anti-extremist operations and allowing the ban on the PW to lapse. The unofficial ceasefire, which came into force from June 16, was also extended though the talks hit a road block on the issue of the movement of armed naxalites in villages. While the PW has rejected the clause unequivocally, there have been contradictory statements from the Government. The Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said that the Government will not allow the PW cadres to move while carrying weapons.

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