India - Chinese radios help Reds tap police calls

Ranchi: Maoist rebels are using made-in-China radios to intercept wireless communication by security forces. Anil Singh, the Maoist’s secretary for Porahat Sub-zonal Area Committee, who surrendered in Khunti, also revealed that almost every Maoist leader carries such radios to get updates on the “secret movements” of CRPF and police personnel combing the forests. Top state police officers accepted that Maoists tap their wireless sets. CRPF IG R K Mishra said: “We have received inputs that the extremists use radios to intercept our wireless communication. We are alert and our forces exercise utmost caution while talking on wireless sets.”
The surrendered Maoist said Chinese radios are cheaper and high-tech. “It receives the voice (frequency) with more clarity than made-in-India radios,” Singh said, adding that most also use these radios for entertainment. “Even a layman can tap intercept police’s wireless sets. All one needs to do is adjust the frequency band of the radio and it will start blaring talks between policemen. The clarity of the communication depends on the weather conditions and the quality of the radio,” a source at the wireless wing of state police said.
This vulnerability has forced Chatra SP S K Jha to ask his officers not to share sensitive information on wireless. “The forces also use secret codes to evade Maoists,” a CRPF officer said. Khunti SP Anish Gupta said police often find radio sets at Maoist hideouts during raids.