Recollecting arms and ammunition from the tribals who were fighting Naxal guerillas as Special Police Officers (SPOs) in red zone would not be an easy task for the Chhattisgarh government.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had barred Chhattisgarh from arming “unskilled and illiterate” young tribals and using them as “cannon fodder” before the better-armed Naxalites. The ruling had come as a big set back for the state in its fight against the Left wing extremists.
The SPOs, who have been trained, armed and recruited at an honorarium of Rs 3,000 per month, had been the trump-card of security forces in its on-going anti-Naxal operations. Since the tribals are acquainted with the geography of the forested terrains, they had paved way for the security forces to enter into Naxal den.
The records available with the state intelligence wing said that more than 250 Naxalites had been killed by SPOs in last five years after the tribals came into action in June 2005. Besides tough jungle war-fare training, the SPOs have been provided sophisticated arms including AK-47s, .303 rifles and others.
“Recollecting the arms and ammunition, as directed by the Supreme Court, would be a daunting task as more than 2500 tribals of the total 4500 SPOs had been provided weapons,” a senior intelligence official told Business Standard. The state government, following apex court ruling, had issued order to recollect the arms.
But the officials with state’s home department and police had not confirmed that the tribals had started depositing arms and ammunition in the nearest police stations. “It is a state government subject and it will not be appropriate for me to comment anything on recollecting arms from the SPOs,” Bastar inspector general of police (IGP) TJ Langkumer said.
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The intelligence official said any effort on the part of authorities to forcefully collect the arms from tribals would lead to a serious revolt. “This because the tribals are in the hit list of Naxalites and disarming will leave them vulnerable,” the official explained.
The government is also considering appointing the SPOs in the police force. “We are examining the apex court order and considering different aspects about ulitising the SPOs in other roles,” state’s principal secretary (home) N K Aswal said.