Anti-insurgency operations in Jharkhand are likely to be intensified during the summer season in a bid to push the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) groups on the back foot before monsoon hits Jharkhand, senior cops in the thick of events said on Saturday.

The State police is also in talks with law enforcement agencies in neighbouring States, especially West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha for launching joint operations against the rebels in the bordering areas of Jharkhand, they added.

“Anti-insurgency operation is a continuous process, and we have intensified our combing operations lately. However, it is ethically wrong to disclose our future course of action to the media,” said Additional Director General (ADG) Operations, Murari Lal Meena.

Central police forces across the country usually de-escalate their operations in the Left Wing Extremism-hit areas of India during Monsoon due to difficulty in moving in the jungles and increased chances of soldiers contracting vector borne diseases and other infections. The rebel outfits, police say, often take advantage of the monsoon season and strengthen their base. “We will take them down before they take advantage of the Monsoon season,” said an Inspector General rank official in the State police.

Police sources said that the State police will take help of Central security forces and police from neighouring States during the operations. A high level meeting of top police officials from West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh is also likely to be held soon, they added. However, there was no official confirmation on the meeting.

According to figures with the State police, there are around 550 active insurgents in Jharkhand and more than 250 of them have bounty on their heads. Some of these rebels, police said, have been active for more than a decade and are also actively involved in recruiting young villagers in order to increase their strength and muscle power.

As per figures with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), 19 of 24 districts in Jharkhand are LWE-affected. Apart from the CPI (Maoist), there are at least 17 splinter outfits active in the tribal State. Security forces, police said, will also target the rebels of splinter outfits during the operations. Two of the most active splinter outfits in Jharkhand are the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) and the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC).

Even during the Monsoon season, the operations will not be de-escalated, police said. The security forces will adopt alternative techniques to overcome the barriers caused by the challenging weather and continue the operations. “Monsoon has always been a barrier for combing operations. But with time, we have adopted new techniques to keep our operations running strong,” said Meena.