With fresh innovations in science and technology, human intelligence, a crucial aspect of intelligence gathering has taken a backseat, SC Jha, additional director, Intelligence Bureau, said at the 43rd All India Police Science Congress held in Patna recently. “Technical intelligence is information without evaluation. Only when the human factor comes into play, you can put the information into perspective,” Jha said. He called upon India to focus on “intelligence-led police activity.” In the area of “counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence was the most effective tool.” He warned against “prefixed ideological considerations” while gathering intelligence, which could throw investigators off the track. Vivek Srivastav, joint director, Intelligence Bureau, Patna said the demands on law enforcement agencies had increased without a consummate increase in the strength of the force and its infrastructure. Citing the growing trend of “intelligence-led policing” to tackle this problem, he called for greater fluidity in intelligence gathering and sharing instead of the existing “monolithic intelligence structures.” Referring to the killing of Maoist leader Kishenji, whose whereabouts were traced using just one source, PM Nair, director general, National Disaster Response Force & Civil Defence, said, “Nine months before the incident, intelligence had dried up completely, when human intelligence came into play.” In order to address the issue of Maoist insurgency, Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh called for immediate implementation of the The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. “That will bring down the problem by 70 per cent,” he said. There was reluctance on part of the Forest Department to implement the Act that would cut the source of funding to the Maoists, he said. SK Bhardwaj, additional director general of Police, Law and Order, Bihar, said 33 districts of Bihar were “affected by Naxal activity.” Already 14 incidents of violence related to left-wing extremism had taken place in Bihar claiming four civilians and six security personnel. Last year, 24 civilians and 10 security personnel were killed in such acts of violence. The government has started the ‘ Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar ’ scheme to reach development activities to the people, Bhardwaj said. Bihar director general of police Abhayanand said the State police was trying to “hit at the finances” of the perpetrators in a subtle way. “The weaker they get financially, the weaker they get operationally,” he pointed out.
