NEW DELHI, Dec 12: Central security agencies have alerted paramilitary forces and police units of Naxal-affected states against a latest bid by Maoists to “elicit” personal details about their personnel and their families, in an apparent bid to target them.
Officials said snoop agencies working in the Left Wing Extremism-hit areas have detected a few cases where Naxal cadres were found to be conducting reconnaissance on the personal activities and family information of security forces personnel residing in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattigarh and few others.
They have, hence, advised these forces to sanitise their personnel and ask them to remain vigilant about any untoward activities they notice when they are off-duty or at home on leave.
A senior paramilitary official, supervising anti-Maoist operations from here, said forces like the CRPF, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, BSF and others have been asked to direct their officials and troops to “gently make aware their families” in this regard and report any activity of being monitored or followed to them.
“These are regular precautions that are expected to be followed by the security forces personnel. However, recently some instances of Naxal conducting recce of some troops have been reported and hence some instructions have been issued. The situation is, however, not of an alarm,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.
A recent communication issued in this regard, also accessed by PTI, states that the CPI-Maoist outfit active in central India is trying to recce the whereabouts of some personnel and may try to “target” their family or properties.
The senior official added that while some cases in the past have been detected where the ‘Over Ground Workers’ or sympathisers of Naxals have been attempting to track the movements and family details of some security forces personnel, they have been timely nipped in the bud by reporting it to the local police.
In some cases police personnel have been kidnapped and killed by Maoists in the past and hence the security forces headquarters are taking no chances in this regard.
“The local police is being roped in to tackle such cases. However, the most important point is to remain alert and vigilant against any suspicious activity,” the official said. (PTI)
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