Maoists behead cop, Taliban-style

The beheaded body of a Jharkhand police officer, who was kidnapped by the Maoists on September 30, was found on barren land along the Jamshedpur-Ranchi highway on Tuesday.

Next to it was a note in which the banned CPI(Maoist) claimed responsibility for the killing. “It was retaliatory action against the killing of comrade Motilal Munda in a fake encounter,” read the poster written in Hindi in red ink.

The message was a warning to the government to expect “more of the same”, an indication of what lies in the months to come as the Centre and state governments plan a massive operation against the rebels.

The Taliban-style killing of inspector Francis Induwar, 52, has almost eliminated the possibility of the government holding any talks with the rebels till they give up violence, highly-placed sources told DNA.

Earlier, reports said the Maoists had demanded the release of three of their senior leaders — Kobad Ghandy, Chatradhar Mahato and Chandra Bhushan Yadav— in exchange for Induwar,  who worked in the intelligence wing of the police. The demand was said to have been conveyed to the authorities through a telephone call to a local newspaper.

The government, however, denied that any such demand was made, and called the killing a “cold-blooded” murder. “The Jharkhand DGP has informed me that there was no demand for the release of any prisoner. We are governed by the rule of law and prisoners are under the custody of court. We cannot swap prisoners with those who are outside the purview of law and who take law into their own hands,” Union home minister P Chidambaram said.

Induwar, who is survived by his wife and three sons, was kidnapped by five masked Maoists in the state’s Khunti district, where he was posted.  Jharkhand Jaguar, the special force of the state police, and the CRPF personnel had been carrying out an intensive operation till the body was found.

Though dozens of security personnel have been killed by the rebels, this is the first time that an unarmed police officer was kidnapped and beheaded, a method usually employed by terrorist outfits.

The brutal slaying and the Centre’s tough stand are clear signs of the coming bloody days across India’s heartland. In a few weeks, a well-coordinated operation would be undertaken involving several states; security forces will try to corner the Maoists into a limited forest space on the borders of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

But Chidambaram tried to keep the proposed operation low key, ruling out that Induwar’s killing was linked to it. “We have not announced anything as yet and we have not said anything. These [reports of the proposed operation against the Maoists] are media speculation,” he said.

The home minister said the Maoists’ “grand plan” to create “liberated zones” would not be allowed to succeed. “The government is duty-bound to protect its people and ensure that the writ of civil administration runs in every part of the state,” he said, adding that the Maoists must “put an end to their so-called theory of armed liberation struggle”.

Over the past few months, clashes between Maoists and security forces have been showing a steady climb. This has become the bloodiest year in areas hit by left wing extremism — 713 people were killed in clashes between security personnel and the Maoists till September end. And with three months still left in 2009, the death count could, for the first time, cross 1,000 in a year.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh continue to be worst-hit: More than 170 people were killed in Jharkhand and 280 in Chhattisgarh till September-end. In 2008, 638 people were killed in Maoist violence, while the toll stood at 650 in 2007.

Induwar has become the 339th policeman to fall victim to the Maoists in Jharkhand between January 2003 and October this year.

— With inputs from agencies