Patna, December 30
The recent meeting of Chief Ministers’ on internal security convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi in the backdrop of the unbridled Naxalite violence in 13 affected states seems to have finally sounded the alarm bell for four states in eastern and central parts of the country.

In a decision supposedly aimed at checking Left-wing extremism, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have reportedly agreed to share information and coordinate with one another in adjoining border areas to crush the ultras.

Sources in the intelligence here were upbeat over the success of such arrangement after the biggest explosive seizure in the Naxal-infested Sonebhadra district of eastern UP bordering Bihar and Jharkhand yesterday.

It was learnt that acting on a tip-off, a combined operation of the UP Police-PAC, the Bihar police and the CRP was launched in the Lekherula jungles on eastern UP’s border with Jharkhand and Bihar. Subsequently, 11 kg of RDX was seized from the tri-junction of UP, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The team reportedly stumbled upon a Naxal hideout under the Machi police station area. “Extensive search led them to a cache of explosives, including 11 kg RDX, 176 gelatine sticks, 10 bundles of fuse wire, dry cells and 10 container bombs. Besides, Naxal literature was also seized”, the police said.

Sources claimed it as the biggest-ever explosive seizure in the past in the region.

And close on the eve of the combined operation by Bihar, Jharkhand and UP, the West Bengal and Jharkhand police has decided to get rid of the barrier of jurisdiction in adjoining Naxal-hit areas to take faster action against the rampaging ultras. Reports reaching here said following the arrangement, policemen now can move freely into each other’s territory. The Naxal affected belt of six districts in Jharkhand-West Bengal border included three of Kolhan range of Jharkhand and three districts of West Bengal.

The decision reportedly was taken to check the ploy of the Naxals, who after launching an attack in one state usually flee to another through the forest covered border. “Till the other day, the police failed to chase them due to the jurisdiction barrier”, sources pointed out.

But with the new arrangement that came into effect from yesterday, if a police station of West Bengal has some information on Naxal activity, it can directly tip-off the respective police station in Jharkhand instead of getting the same information routed through the higher-ups, as had been the earlier rule by only delaying the process of crackdown.

The decision, which was expected to reduce the time gap significantly in chasing Naxals, was taken at the joint meeting of the DIG of Kolhan range of Jharkhand and his West Midnapore range counterpart in West Bengal at Kharagpur on Friday.

Sources said Jharkhand was now planning to workout the same arrangement with Bihar too after the two states recently had conducted joint raids against the Naxals following the killing of the son of the former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi, Anup Marandi, on October 26.