BRAVE POLICE DGP REMOVED

Vishwaranjan goes, Maoists may gain turf
July 14, 2011   1:01:13 AM

Shivanand Shukla | Raipur

Transfer of Vishwaranjan, a 1973 batch IPS officer, from the post of Chhattisgarh’s Director General of Police is bound to deal a major blow to the anti-Maoist operations and give happiness to Naxal sympathisers who were baying for the blood of this no-nonsense supercop.

The abrupt removal of Vishwaranjan has come as a big surprise for all and sundry as the State Government has taken this decision at a time when it is going through a critical phase of rehabilitating special police officers (SPO) in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Vishwaranjan was appointed Chhattisgarh DGP in July, 2007 when the State was witnessing angst of masses in Bastar in the form of the Salwa Judum movement against Maoist retaliation against those standing up against the Left-wing extremism.

Holding the fort as the DGP, Vishwaranjan tried to use his two-decade stint in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in providing a fresh approach to the anti-Maoist strategy. He opted for what was dubbed a pro-active approach that sought to take on Maoists in their own bastion rather than waiting for the rebels to attack the security forces at relief camps or police stations as it happened in the past.

Notably after Vishwaranjan took over as DGP there were fewer attacks like the ones on Ranibodali, Arrabore and other relief camps where rebels killed hundreds of people and security personnel.

During his regime, Maoists carried out repeated attacks on paramilitary forces but not on relief camps or police stations. Seventy-five CRPF men were killed in one attack in Tadmetala of Dantewada in 2010 and 29 police officials were killed in 2009 in Karketti of Rajnandgaon district. These attacks took place in the heart of the Maoist bastion when the forces ventured in the area to secure control.

Vishwaranjan also added an intellectual dimension to the on-going war against the Maoists. Through his newspaper articles in local and national media, the DGP attacked Maoists and the so-called champions of human rights. He boosted morale of police and tried to give enough space to his subordinates to mature and take decisions on their own. But in the process he became a target of those opposed to his way of functioning and envious of his growing popularity.

Media reports highlighted his differences with Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar on various issues relating to transfer and posting, action against police personnel and many other issues. He was also not getting along well with the State’s bureaucracy as being a senior officer of 1973 batch, he was not in the habit of extending undue niceties to junior IAS officers. Besides, his creative writing also came for sharp criticism as it was said that the DGP remained busy in writing poetry while the State was gripped by Maoist violence. Vishwaranjan was also not getting along well with the Central paramilitary forces, who kept on becoming sitting ducks for the Maoists.

But more than anything else the manner of his removal has raised eyebrows. The DGP was all along kept in the dark about the move, so much so that he came to know of it when he left on Tuesday night on a four-day visit to Ahmedabad to meet his daughter. Sources said the State Government gave him no hints that he was on his way out. What is inexplicable why he was coaxed to forego the post of additional director in IB in Delhi and take up the challenging assignment in Raipur.

Sources close to him said that Vishwaranjan was deeply hurt by the manner of his removal, and was unlikely to join the duty. Sources said he will proceed on a long leave and then take premature retirement. He has eight more months in service.

However, State Government sources said that the decision to shift him to Home Guards department was taken in a right perspective. The transfer is said to be aimed at giving a new leadership to the State Police and fresh orientation to the anti-Maoist operation. “Not much should be read into the transfer which is natural in the system, what is important is that Vishwaranjan has done a commendable job in raising the structure of the forces as per the State’s need and this will be further followed by his successor in future,” said a top official source