By IANS,
Ranchi : While assuring the Jharkhand government of all possible help in tackling the Maoist problem, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here Saturday that there was need to “fill the vacancies” in the special branch of the state’s police force.
“There is a need to fill the 1,500 vacancies existing in the state special branch. The special branch of the state government will now interact with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials of Ranchi to share intelligence,” Chidambaram told reporters here Saturday.
Chidambaram arrived here at 10.30 a.m., one hour behind schedule and held a meeting with Governor Syed Sibte Razi, his three advisers and senior officials.
He assured all possible help to the state government in tackling the Maoist problem. He admitted that Maoist incidents have risen in the last two decades in the country.
Chidambaram said: “I have asked the governor to provide land to set up the headquarters of CRPF battalions in Namkom, Ranchi, and for the Cobra Force in Hazaribagh and Indian Reserve Battalion in Jamshedpur.”
CRPF and Cobra Force are central government forces.
Chidambaram stressed on the need to fill the 6,000 constable vacancies and more than 1,500 vacancies existing in the state’s special branch.
Asked about inter-state joint operations to tackle the Maoist problem, Chidambaram said: “Barring West Bengal most of the states have adopted joint operations. West Bengal has reservations in this regard” about the police force of one state pursuing criminals across a state border without taking permission from their counterparts.