Dealing with extremist threats
NEWS of the discovery of secret JMB training camps deep in the hills as also elsewhere has the nation properly and justifiably concerned. It is one more powerful indication of the persisting menace that threatens to keep the country on tenterhooks as long as the outfit and others like it are not neutralised. The good bit here, however, is that the law enforcing and security forces, namely, the police and the Rapid Action Battalion, have remained busy identifying the camps and flushing out the elements busy trying to undermine the state. We appreciate the skill and confidence with which they have been going after these extremist elements and so persuading the nation that things are well in hand. There is, of course, yet a long road that must be travelled before such elements can fully be put out of existence. We cannot pretend that the menace is gone. It is yet there.
The problem, for the government as well as the country, is that it is not just the JMB or religious extremists who are a threat to security these days. Of late, the frequency with which outlaws professing adherence to an extreme brand of politics have been operating in the southwestern region of the country demonstrates the dual nature of the threat we are up against. To be sure, there is as yet little reason or grounds for panic. In fact, there is nothing that can be regarded as alarmist in our understanding of these realities. That said, though, there is also the truth that there can be no room for complacency here. Indeed, when outlaws threaten to shoot police officers (and that is precisely what has been done in the past couple of days), it becomes an imperative for the authorities to go for tough, focused action against such destabilising elements. Secret armed groups such as Lal Pataka have telephonically hurled threats of death against the superintendent of police in Bagerhat and the officer-in-charge of Fakirhat police station. They have also demanded the freeing of four extremists arrested recently. Meanwhile, there also appears to be outside pressure on the police, who have just registered a general diary against a former lawmaker who reportedly compelled them to release a detained outlaw. It hardly needs to be said that a thorough investigation into the question of who are helping these elements and in what ways is a necessity if peace and order in the south and southwest are to be ensured.
The priorities ought to be made clear. A concerted, well-planned and focused drive against the forces ranged against the state and society is called for. Such an approach should take into account not merely a gearing up of activity by the law enforcers and security personnel but also the contributions of the larger community. Creating awareness among citizens and imbuing in them thoughts of how best to deal with such a menace will go a long way in curbing and finally extinguishing the threats we face today from extremists of both the rightwing and ultra-left brands.
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