End defensive policy, go all out against Reds: Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday outlined the need for an aggressive and proactive strategy to counter Naxal insurgency. Addressing chief ministers of Naxal-affected states in the wake of a recent ambush on a paramilitary patrol in Bastar that left 25 dead, Union home minister Rajnath Singh said that setbacks like Sukma were a lesson on how extremely defensive deployment of forces could harm operational effectiveness.

Singh spelled out the mantra of 'SAMADHAN' — where 'S' stands for smart leadership, 'A' for aggressive strategy, 'M' for motivation and training, 'A' for actionable intelligence, 'D' for dashboard-based key performance indicators and key result areas, 'H' for harnessing technology, 'A' for action plan for each theatre and 'N' for no access to financing.

He stressed on the need to utilise surrendered cadres to generate intelligence and depute shadow officers to track prominent Maoist leaders.

Singh said states must take ownership of anti-Naxal operations with central forces offering full support.

The meeting was attended by chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were represented by ministers and West Bengal and Telangana by their chief secretary and DGP. Singh called for harnessing of technology to fight Naxals.

He said more UAVs and mini-UAVs must be procured to ensure there was at least one with every battalion. Also, aids like PTZ cameras, GPS tracking and satellite imagery must be employed. To prevent use of looted weapons and pilfered explosives by Maoists, forces were advised to have trackers in weapons and gear like bullet-proof jackets, biometrics in smart gun triggers and unique identification number for gelatine and other explosive materials.