INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
Director General of Police - Mr Bhusan Lal Vohra

From a ragtag outfit pulverised by rampaging militants, much-maligned Tripura police backed up by eight battalions of highly trained and motivated Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawans is now an effective fighting machine . With high morale and all wherewithals at its disposal, state police has emerged as the vanguard of the forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations. The man who brought about the metamorphosis is none other than the Director General of Police (DGP) Mr Bhusan lal Vohra . A suave soft-spoken man with a heart of unalloyed steel, Mr Vohra, one of the seniormost IPS officers in the country, has had the invaluable experience of leading counter-insurgency operations in Northeast, Jammu and kashmir and even Punjab-under the stewardship of supercop Sardar K.P.S. Gill. A forthright no-nonsense man, the DGP who never claims any personal credit for the turnaround in counter-insurgency operations in the state, spoke to Mr S. Datta, Chief Advisor to tripurainfo.com at length in his office chamber in an exclusive interview displayed below.

 

Q.No.1: Militant attacks seem to have abated during the past months and casualties have also gone down. How has this happened ?

Mr.Vohra: You know there is no magic formula to curb insurgency problem.It is just the result of hard work by the entire force including jawans operating at the grassroot level and bearing the brunt of the work.When I joined here in May last year parts of Khowai subdivision were burning and at one stage I was wondering whether my decision to come here had been a wise decision . But things improved with hard work being put in by all.


Q.No.2:  What specific steps did you take ? It is an important question because state police personnel had always been at the receiving end of militant attacks.

Mr Vohra: I tried to secure co-operation from all and fortunately for me the state government, all my colleagues and paramilitary forces extended excellent co-operation . As for the specifics , I tried to boost up the morale of the force at the grass root level by inspiring them in the course of my tours and my colleagues also have been visiting remote areas and speaking to officers and jawans.This has worked exceedingly well. Besides, the state government as well as the union home ministry have taken care of the essential requirements of the force. We now have a good cache of sophisticated weapons including bullet-proof jackets, headgears, vehicles , night vision devices , dragon lights etc. We need more but the requirement is being gradually fulfilled. I would also like to point out that giving rewards to police personnel in the form of commendations disks and cash incentives has also helped in inspiring officers and jawans quite a bit .The result is there for all to see.


Q.No.3: What about training programme for police personnel? It is often alleged that state policemen lack operational training.

Mr. Vohra: Well, we are taking care of that. A school for training in jungle warfare has come up at Kachucherra in Kamalpur subdivision and two other schools at Barmura in west district and Koaiphang in south district are also operational . TSR jawans are being trained there and once this is completed they should be able to deliver the goods. We have also started 'refresher training ' for civil police personnel. You will be surprised to know that there were personnel in state police who did not have any kind of training even after a span of seventeen years of service.


Q.No.4: Has setting up new police stations and outposts helped in counter-insurgency operations and do you have plan to set up more ?

Mr Vohra: Yes, definitely . We have set up four new police stations at Champa haor , Kachucherra, Khedacherra and Srinagar and a large number of outposts manned by TSR personnel have been set up in remote areas. These have been set up in response to persistent demands from the people and on the basis of our assessment.This have greatly helped in curbing militant activities and we are planning to set up more in remote areas. And you know , tribal people in remote areas are now rooting for more TSR-manned outposts whereas they used to be very hostile to TSR earlier. It is an achievement of sorts, you can say.

Q.No.5: You have travelled quite a lot while visiting remote posts in hilly areas. Any interesting experience?

Mr Vohra: Well, when I was on a thirteen km trek to reach Panjirai TSR post in Belonia I reached a place called Sisaram para. I was shocked to see a whole pucca road covered with bushes and shrubs and lying unused for fear of militants. Again while I was on a 38 km trek from remote Rabonpara in Gandacherra subdivision to Ampi in Amarpur the Road Opening Patrol (ROP) accompanying me caught hold of one hardcore NLFT militant with a live bomb-the second one had managed to escape. Apparently they never thought that police would ever pass through this road. Is it not interesting ? Another pleasant experience is that compared with other states of northeast corruption in Tripura is negligible.


Q.No.6:What about intelligence ? Is the state police getting enough intelligence feedback?

Mr Vohra: You see intelligence is always difficult to come by. Had it not been so , twin towers of the world trade centre in Newyork would not have been destroyed. But my colleagues in the intelliegence section of state police have been doing a very good job and I specially compliment DGP Mr John Mathew who is doing an excellent job.

Q.No.7: How can the insurgency problem in Tripura be resolved?

Mr Vohra: You had better ask leaders in politics because my job is policing and keeping the insurgents at bay. This is a complicated and multi-dimensional problem on which I won't comment. What I can say is that there are certain factors which we policemen can not help. The long and porous border with Bangladesh which help the militants , the terrain which is also tailormade for them besides the element of surprise and support from international forces inimical to our country. But I assure you that Tripura police have come a long way and very soon it will emerge as a self-sufficient and far better force though it is good enough even now.