The Hindu : National : Police strength for combing operations to be doubled

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Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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Police strength for combing operations to be doubled

K.T. Sangameswaran

Searches are also on in Tiruvallur and Vellore districts

Navin Prasad absconding for past five years
Multi-pronged strategy to tackle naxalite menace

CHENNAI: It has been decided to double the strength of police personnel involved in combing operations against naxalites in various parts of the State, according to a police source.

Besides the hill ranges of Periyakulam, Kodaikanal and Western Ghats, the searches are on in Tiruvallur and Vellore districts. As of now, a little over 200 Special Task Force personnel of all ranks are engaged in the combing.

One of the three identified CPI (Maoist) cadres, who escaped from Murugan Malai near Periyakulam a few days ago, is wanted by the police in connection with the Uthangarai encounter in 2002. The source said Navin Prasad of Dharmapuri district was absconding for the past five years.

The others were identified as Kalidas from Paramakudi, against whom several cases were pending, and Ranjith of Tiruvallur district, who was absconding for the past four years. The police are continuing their hunt for seven more persons

Thanks to the timely information from the local people, the police were able to nab three naxalites from Murugan Malai. Rewarding the public in a suitable manner was under consideration, the source said.

One of the .303 rifles seized by the police had a specific mark in white paint. Following this, a police team had been rushed to Karnataka for verification.

The arms and ammunition were all country-made. The grenades did not contain any charge.

Director-General of Police D. Mukherjee told The Hindu that a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the naxalite menace was under implementation, particularly after the Uthangarai encounter. A constant effort was on to involve the impres sionable group in constructive activity. The police were organising sports activities and assisted the youth in the development of their skills. Mobile libraries had been started. The personnel of the special division visited the violence-prone villages and the absence of basic amenities there. The Superintendents of Police concerned were submitting reports regularly to the Collectors.

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