The audacious and well-planned attack by the Naxals in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday is being termed as the deadliest by the Maoist group in recent times. The very fact that over 70 soldiers of paramilitary forces were killed raises questions about the state of intelligence as well as the strategy followed by the forces against the militant group. On this issue, CNN-IBN spoke to Home Secretary G K Pillai and tried to know the Government's side on the heavy casualty suffered in Dantewada.
CNN-IBN: Is this a massive intelligence failure on the part of security forces?
G K Pillai: There is no question of intelligence failure. This was a team which went out based on specific intelligence inputs two days ago. They went looking for the Maoists this morning but they got ambushed in the jungles. This is not an intelligence failure because we don't have intelligence inside the jungles.
CNN-IBN: Whether it is intelligence or operation failure, the fact is that they walked right into a trap. Were the Naxals tipped off?
G K Pillai: No. I think they had already gone, I don't think any villagers were there. My own hunch would be that the Maoists would be already sitting there when they (the forces) went. They possibly laid a trap on their way back. They should have been careful to avoid doing that. But we have to wait for the full report and investigation by the people at the spot.
CNN-IBN: Any specific reason behind the timing of this attack? There have been reports that Maoist leader Kishenji is dead. Is this attack in retaliation against that?
G K Pillai: I don't think so. We know very well what the Maoists objective is. There is nothing pretty much for us to be surprised about this. Also, we are pleased to inform that we have been able to arrest some 12 Maoists with weapons in Chhattisgarh. So that is the retaliatory strike by us.
CNN-IBN: We are hearing about figures like a thousand Naxals surrounding the security forces. Can you confirm?
G K Pillai: I don't think so, the figure of 1000 and all are highly exaggerated. For an ambush of this kind, it would be sufficient to have 100-200 people. The surprise element is always with you.
CNN-IBN: Can you confirm reports that the Ministry of Home Affairs is now asking for air-fire power?
G K Pillai: No such request has been made and we believe that we can handle the Maoists with helicopters only for evacuation and mobilisation.
CNN-IBN: Would you need armed forces for intelligence gathering etc?
G K Pillai: I don't think so. I think we have our own sources of intelligence in many areas. In this particular area, we have had some successes in this area also.
CNN-IBN: It seems like no lessons learnt yet. A year ago the same type of attack was carried out by the Naxals. You see we have inducted more forces into the area so there are more targets for the Maoists to aim at.
G K Pillai: We have inducted 21 additional battalions and some casualties we will have to face in the ongoing operations. But we have also had lot of success against the Maoists.
CNN-IBN: Are you saying it because you are going further into Naxal areas isn't it?
G K Pillai: Yes. We could not have been into the area, but we have been able to restore civil administration and take back areas in Rajnandgaon and....that we have done very successfully and the Maoists have not been able to counter that.
CNN-IBN: It seems like a Centre vs state issue and the local police not helping CRPF.
G K Pillai: In Chhattisgarh, we have excellent cooperation with state police. We are working together. Of all the states, we have maximum cooperation from Chhattisgarh.
CNN-IBN: What is the government doing to bolster the security forces?
G K Pillai: We have put in more additional forces. We are building up....and you will find that as the months go by, we will have the upper hand totally.
CNN-IBN: You say you have best relations with Chhattisgarh yet the CAG reports says that it lacks proper equipment.
G K Pillai: I don't think so. We have no doubt. I don't think the police forces in the country are deficient in training and equipment. It is our top priority to bolster the training and provide them with best equipment. It is a slow process but we will do it in the days and months to come.
CNN-IBN: After the deadliest Naxal attack, what do you have to say to the nation about what government would do?
G K Pillai: Basically as a nation we need more patience. We will start to show the success in the days to come. We have restored civil admin in about 5000 sq kilometers in the last four months. Both in Rajnandgaon and Kanker district, we are seeing the success. Dantewada is an area where it is not in the second stage. We would be coming to Dantewada a little later. This is one of those unfortunate incidents where a variety of factors have come together to cause this huge loss which we believe it was quite unfortunate.
CNN-IBN: Would we see you and the Home Minister heading there? When are the bodies expected to arrive?
G K Pillai: We have sent an aircraft to the area and the bodies will be brought back to Delhi tomorrow (Wednesday). We will be taking the necessary steps to build up the morale among the force itself which must be a little down right now. We have told not only the CRPF but also paramilitary forces not to get saddened by this incident. We will show the results with more vigour in the days to come.
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