Palamu: Naxalite movement appears to have lost its steam in Palamu, once known as the den of Maoists, who used to scare away innocents in the forested hinterlands of this Jharkhand district. Thanks to constant vigil and other strict measures, which are keeping the Naxalites and their sympathisers at bay.
Declaring that the last fight with Maoists is near and it will be “ruthless”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah already declared that India will be free of the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 2026.
According to Palamu SP Rishma Rameshan, apart from a known method like combing operations, another strategy which clicked in taming the Naxalites is going for character certificates of suspected people. Under this initiative, police keep close eye on areas, where they zero in on people who are either involved in Maoist activities either actively or in a passive manner.
"Character certificates and strict police verification are scaring away anti-socials Naxalites at several areas in Palamu. In Naxalite affected areas, people are preferring to stay away from Naxalite and criminal activities. Considering the fact that keeping the villagers connected to the mainstream can be a big challenge in Naxalite areas, we have decided to go for character certificates and police verification. These methods are proving to be effective in dealing with maoist menace," Rameshan said.
6,501 people get character certificate in a year
A large number of people from Palamu move to big cities for jobs. During the Covid-19 period, a figure of 53,000 migrant labourers was enlisted. Before the Corona period, 2,500 people used to get character certificates for jobs in Palamu. The police verification rate was less than 200.
In 2024, till December 10, as many as 6,501 people have got character certificates in Palamu. At the same time, police verification of about 2,300 people has been done. Companies from South and North India have written letters to Palamu Police for maximum verification.
Drop in violence
Cautious youth who want to land jobs to eke out a living for themselves are choosing to stay away from criminal activities and boycotting Naxals, police said.
In the last few years, Palamu witnessed less number of Naxalite activities. The number of Naxalite supporters are dwindling. According to police estimates, till 2016-17, there were 59 Naxalites in Palamu, but now their numbers have come down to just two. There were many villages in Palamu where the police had identified 12 to 15 people as Naxalite supporters, but now there are no Naxalite supporters left in these villages. In the last two years, 13 FIRs have been registered in Palamu regarding Naxalite incidents. Whereas till 2020-21 this figure used to be 60 to 70.
In this regard, Surendra Yadav, an expert on Naxalism, said in the past, Naxalites used to take the help of local villagers to carry out the incident. Villagers used to help Naxalites. “Maoist sympathisers had to face lawsuits. On many occasions, they faced difficulties in getting certificates for jobs. Their hurdle to get jobs changed sympathisers' hearts,” Yadav said.
How is a character certificate made?
Character certificate is made by the police for jobs and educational purposes. The concerned persons first get the approval for character certificate from the ward commissioner or panchayat representative and chowkidar of their respective areas on the application. They submit applications in the SP's office. Applicants are sent to the police station for verification by authorities in the SP office.
In the police station, the verification of the concerned person is done through CCTNS to ensure the accuracy of the process. After approval by the police officer in the police station, applications are sent to the SP office, where the character certificate is issued with the signature of the SP or a nodal officer. If a case is registered against a person, then complete information is written on his application.
How is police verification done?
On the other hand, if a person goes to work in another city and applies for a job there, then the employers ask for police verification. The company officials seek information on whether any kind of case is registered against the job seeker. Police verification is also done in case of government job. In case the person does not meet the criterion, he is rejected for the job.
