Rewards elude cops who nabbed Naxals

When it comes to receiving rewards and getting recognition, the brave hearts from Jharkhand police often remain unsung. These also include the ones who showed exemplary courage in nabbing top-ranking Maoist leaders.

Even though the government has a clearly stipulated policy in place since 2007 that says that rewards will be given to those who nab Maoist leaders, very few officers get them.

A couple of years ago, a Ranchi police team led by inspector Sushil Pathak and officer in-charge of Chutia PS Kamal Kishor nabbed CPI (Maoist) politburo member Amitabh Bagchi and Bengal panel member Tauhid Mullah. Both Maoist leaders carried rewards of Rs12 lakh and Rs10 lakh on their heads. However, none of the officers who risked their lives to arrest Bagchi and Mullah, could get the cash reward they deserved.

Acting on intelligence inputs, the officer in-charge of Lalpur police station, Phulan Nath, his Sukhdeo Nagar PS counterpart KK Sahu and his team arrested one Vikas Sinha alias Udai Sinha from Kalimandir Road in the same police station area along with a nine mm pistol and important documents. Sinha is one of the top-ranking Maoists of the state area committee and carried cash award of Rs 10 lakh. More than four months have elapsed since the arrest but the team did not get the award. One of the officials, who qualified for his share of the award, said the callous approach of their superiors left them demoralised.

Another police team led by officer in-charge of Lower Bazar PS Randhir Kumar Singh and his Sukhdeo Nagar counter part KK Sahu had arrested another State committee member of the Maoist Birbal in the early 2009. The officers are still waiting for the awards to come their way.

“We risk our lives for the people of the state by arresting the top Naxals. However, our bosses, who leave no stone unturned to claim the credit for such arrests, appear to be turning a deaf ear when it comes to offering the rewards,” he said.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ranchi, Praveen Kumar Singh, said the district police headquarters had sent its recommendation for awards to the police personnel. He, however, could not state the reason why and how the process got stuck.

The officers who were instrumental in arresting Maoist topshots like Pramod Mishra, Hussain Shankaran, et al in other districts were paid their reward money long time ago.

Director general of police (DGP) Neyaz Ahmad at first refused to comment on the matter saying the arrests might have been made before he assumed charge. But when HT pointed out some of the arrests were made during his stint, Ahmad said the recommendations might have been sent to the government.