The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Naxal influence a forgotten phenomenon

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Thursday, Apr 24, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Naxal influence a forgotten phenomenon

S. Harpal Singh

For the people: Adilabad SP Anil Kumar and Bellampalli Additional SP Ramesh Naidu assess the threat perception in a remote village.

ADILABAD: It may look just a bit early nevertheless, the district police has started its exercise needed for a free and fair by election to Adilabad Lok Sabha and Khanapur Assembly constituencies.

“It better be a ‘rigmarole’ than a ‘rig’ in the by elections,” observed Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar giving reason for starting beforehand.

“Naxal influence on voters is an almost forgotten phenomenon because of their considerably decreased strength and popularity. Only a dozen extremists belonging to Adilabad and another six from Nizamabad are active here. They are constantly on the move faced with the question of survival. However, we will not take any chances and deploy adequate forces for smooth conduct of the elections,” the SP added.

Exercise

An exercise has begun to identify sensitive and hyper sensitive polling booths across the district.

“In the four years that went by after the 2004 elections a lot of changes have taken place. Road connectivity to interior villages has increased. This means political activity in such villages will have increased. Some of the interior polling stations like that in Mangi village in Tiryani mandal have become accessible now.

The review will help in re-categorisation of the booths,” explained Mr. Anil Kumar.

The changed situation also warrants change in the pattern of force deployment across the area in the district that falls under Adilabad Lok Sabha and Khanapur Assembly constituencies. For example, the 84 polling booths in Khanapur listed as extremist affected will be categorised afresh because of the changed situation.

A fresh assessment on the ‘how’ and ‘how many’ in terms of deployment and number of security personnel will also be done in the next few days.

As the three major parties, the Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were also announced somewhat ahead of time, the task of providing personal security has also begun simultaneously.

Already, requests for gun-men have been made by candidates and other political VIPs. “We will provide personal security to all the candidates irrespective of a request,” said the SP.

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