KP cops on poll duty near Dantewada IED blast site
Times of India | 18 April 2024
Kolkata: Two companies of Kolkata Police (KP) that had left for Chhattisgarh with 184 cops last month are now coordinating with multiple forces on the ground to secure Bastar and Dantewada districts as the two ‘red zones’ will go to polls during the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday (April 19).
So far, about 35 Maoists had been killed in the past month and four security personnel were injured, making the terrain one of the most challenging zones in the first phase of elections.Even on Wednesday, two BJP functionaries were allegedly murdered by Maoists at Bastar.
The units are currently posted at Palnar village in Dantewada, the spot less than 35 km from where security personnel got injured in IED blasts last month and more than 150 km from the spot where 29 Maoists lost their lives in a clash with security personnel two days back.
KP personnel were being deployed for elections in the area that still has a significant Maoist presence for the first time in some decades. Several years back, KP personnel were deployed in Bengal’s ‘jangalmahal’ during Panchayat elections.
The sudden departure by a special train that departed from Kolkata Railway Station for Raipur during the wee hours of Friday has left even the top brass perplexed, even though it was explained that more hands were needed on the ground. While the KP personnel were busy checking vehicles on roads in Bastar and Dantewada districts, they have now been assigned booths. All of them have been asked to carry their semi-automatic weapons. The two companies — led by ACP Abhijit Malakar of 6th battalion and has three inspectors, 21 sub-inspectors, sergeants and ASIs — are then likely to move to Madhya Pradesh. There are 149 constables, four wireless operators, four cooks and two sweepers in the team.