Hundreds of people join the funeral procession of inspector Francis Indwar in Ranchi on Wednesday. Earlier, Indwar’s body was brought to St Francis Church, where his last rites were performed. Accompanied by priests Father Xavier Soreng, Father Agnes Topno, Father Hubastus Beck and Father Augustine Kerketta, the procession proceeded to the graveyard. Inspector-general of Special Branch B.B. Pradhan and inspector-general of South Chhotanagpur Rezi Dungdung were also present, along with several of Indwar's colleagues, friends and relatives. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Oct. 7: Francis Indwar would have lived, but for an arguably injudicious search operation.

Hours after Maoists kidnapped the Special Branch inspector from Arki in Khunti, the state police brass pressed into service a rescue party, led by IG (operations) D.K. Pandey, that combed remote pockets of the two neighbouring districts of Ranchi and Khunti, but omitted a 20km radius of the capital that has witnessed heightened rebel activity in the past.

Indwar is believed to have been held captive in and around Arki, Tamar and Bundu, popularly called the Dasham Falls zone and known to be a hotbed of Naxalite activities. Though the police said they had searched the area, the execution-style killing of the officer and his body dumped near Raisha bridge, 12km from Ranchi, punch holes in their claim.

Confronted, state police spokesperson and IG (provision) S.N. Pradhan said success and failure were part of life. “Every operation is not successful. We had launched a massive search operation. Personnel from four police stations — Arki, Bundu, Tamar and Sonahatu — were involved, besides paramilitary forces,” he said.

Pradhan maintained that villagers who once provided information on rebel movements had stopped doing so of late, fearing retribution. “We received no information on Indwar and this was the main reason why the operation failed,” he said.

An officer of Bundu police station — part of the operation in Barigarha, the bastion of Maoist top gun Kundan Pahan, Surakocha, Maranghada, Sosonga and Kasmardih — however, admitted that their strategy was wrong from the beginning.

“We searched for Indwar in the jungles. That was our mistake. The rebels were very close to highways, particularly NH-33. They fooled us all along,” said the officer, requesting anonymity.

Another policeman blamed the half-hearted approach of senior officers who camped in Bundu for a couple of days and “issued directives instead of directly participating in the operation”.

IG (operations) Pandey refused to comment. He said he was not authorised to speak to the media. “Better ask DGP V.D. Ram.”

A counter-insurgency officer, earlier posted in the Bundu-Tamar-Arki region, said he had proposed strict vigil along a 2km periphery of the national highway, but his suggestions were ignored.

Indwar was abducted in broad daylight from the busy Hembrom bazaar on Tamar-Khunti road near a state highway. An offshoot of the highway leads to Maranghada and, ultimately, to the Dasham zone.

The area has seen rebel activities since 2007, when an armoured van carrying Rs five crore and gold was torched. During the bandh this August-end, Maoists had also set four ration trucks on fire.

A section of junior police officers and Indwar’s colleagues believe several such indications should have spurred search in the Dasham zone. That done, Indwar might have been alive, they said.

The rebels have successfully demoralised the police and created a rift between low and high-rung officers. Members of the state police association and Indwar’s kin claimed that the police bosses “did not pay much attention to the rescue of an inspector-rank official” while flaws in the search strategy snuffed out the life of a braveheart much too early.