Forces on alert ahead of I-Day

Ranchi: In order to prevent the left-wing extremists from indulging in violence during the Independence Day celebrations on Saturday, police stations, posts and camps are on high alert throughout the state.
In the past, the extremists had tried to put up posters and hoist black flags in schools located in the rural areas to disrupt the Independence Day celebration but such incidents have not been reported in the last few years. Nevertheless, the security personnel are not letting their guard down, police said.
Jharkhand police spokesperson and IG Suman Gupta said that they were following the standard operating procedure for ensuring a peaceful Independence Day celebration.
A senior CRPF personnel on anonymity said that security personnel will be out on patrol duty from Friday and it will continue till Independence Day. He added that this time, the security forces have the additional challenge of maintaining the Covid safety norms in the run to and during the celebrations, besides curbing any LWE activities.
Sources said that anti-rebel operations are going on in the Maoist-prone areas of several districts, including Ranchi, Khunti, Giridih, Gumla and Chaibasa.
Ranchi SP Surindra Jha said, “Though there is no report of extremist presence within the district at present, their groups are always on the move near the inter-district borders. Operations are being carried out with the help of CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and district police. We will be on high alert for the next few days.”
Khunti SP Ashutosh Shekhar said that police are conducting operations on the tri-junction area of Khunti, Seraikela and Chaibasa districts.