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Journalism of Courage
Once again a small band of determined extremists has outwitted the security and intelligence apparatus of several states. After years of combatting the People8217;s War Group PWG and after many exercises in coordinated action, the police forces of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra should have been prepared for a major outbreak of violence.
After all, the PWG had more or less given notice that it would seek revenge for the deaths in encounters with the police of four of its leaders. So police in all the states should have been on high alert and reinforced security. Obviously that has not been the case and the PWG has been able to enhance its image among its supporters and the morale of its cadres by leaving a trail of damage in three states from Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh to Nadwa in Bihar and Karampally in Andhra Pradesh.
Experience shows that Naxal violence is often opportunistic in that dalams strike wherever they can and wherever there are gaps in security. There is often no logical connection between the provocation and the particularvictim or location of the violence. However, Naxal violence is not totally arbitrary: it is aimed broadly at representatives of the state or state property and therefore can to some extent be anticipated and prevented. In any case, if intelligence were better and such a thing as a functional network of informants existed it would help narrow the field. An investigation ordered by the MP government will show whether there was a particular reason, apart from his being a member of the government, for the Naxals to single out the transport minister, Likhiram Kawre, for punishment.
Certainly he seems to have been a sitting duck with no security worth the name. Even though Balaghat is known to be riddled with PWG outfits and hideouts and a senior police officer was killed there only a few months ago, the special anti-Naxal police post located in the district does not seem to have been vigilant enough. Once again in a pattern that is all too familiar, police incompetence has very likely contributed to thesurvival of the Naxal movement by allowing fear to spread and the extremists appear stronger than they are in reality.
