Leading the charge

I might be familiar with the system,but it is difficult to do justice to both these roles. And then there are the exigencies of VIP visits, said Sahu,who,on Friday morning,rushed to the nearby Koraput town to handle the security set-up for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaiks sudden visit. Patnaik visited Koraput and later Laxmipur town to expedite the processes of getting Hikaka released from captivity.

Though he usually comes to the police station between 9 and 10 everyday,on Friday,he rushed to Koraput before 8 a.m. The previous night,he had worked late,talking to his army of informers over the phone. Sahu,who was earlier officer-in-charge of Narayanpatna police station,knows whom to tap in Narayanpatna for that key information that could make or break their strategy in the fight against the Maoists.

As the chief minister stayed in Koraput till 2.30 p.m.,Sahu stayed on till 3 p.m.,only to rush back to Semiliguda police station half-an-hour later. Soon after reaching the police station,he switched on his computer to retrieve an important piece of background information on some senior Maoist leader. While he is at it,a subordinate rushes in with some information about petty crimes in the area.

Working in Semiliguda is all about establishing your network. In the fight against Maoists,human intelligence matters more than technical intelligence. Its all about playing the mindgame. The smarter one wins, says Sahu,who took charge of the police station in July 2009. The network he speaks about are made of informers whose tip-off often tilt the scales,one way or the otherthe information could be about Maoist movement,an ambush set up by the rebels or of some senior Maoist from Andhra Pradesh making rounds in the area.

Semiliguda is key to Maoist operations as it sits on a tri-junction between Andhra Pradesh and Ankadeli of Malkangiri district,thus providing a seamless travel route to cadres of the Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee. Maoists from Andhra Pradesh who want to travel to Koraputs Narayanpatna block pass through Semiliguda. Besides,before his arrest,AOBSZC member Ghasi had used Semiliguda as an extortion point for Maoists,forking out money from terrified contractors,businessmen,corporates and prominent politicians of the ruling party. The year 2010 was a bloody year for Semiliguda as Maoists killed zilla parishad member Anand Kirshani,road contractor A S Chawla and and two tribals. Ghasi had to be arrested.

When we finally saw Ghasi,he was planning to escape in a commander jeep. I tapped his shoulder and took his name. But before he could whip out his pistol that was to his left,I grabbed his right hand and said,maar doonga. He said,Sir,main surrender kiya. For a moment,my heart skipped a beat as I could not believe that this was the same dreaded Ghasi who had scores of murder cases against him in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, says Sahu.

A year on,Sahu is yet to get his share of the Rs 10 lakh reward money announced by the Andhra Pradesh government.

Anup Sahoo,Sahus former boss and now SP of Puri,describes him as a man who never shies away from an anti-Naxal operation. Both of us have gone to interior places of Semiliguda on a bike without caring for our safety. The best thing about him is he never gets complacent after a successful operation, says Sahoo.

As dusk sets in,Sahu rummages through some mobile SIM cards and settles for one. He inserts it into a cellphone and calls his source. If I can know what the other side is up to,my battle is won. Its better to be safe than sorry, he says.