Following the Naxal attack earlier this week that killed 25 CRPF jawans, the central police force and the state police have launched a massive joint operation in Sukma district of South Bastar in Chhattisgarh.
More than 5,000 specially-trained jawans are combing the jungles with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Special Foliage Penetrating Radar Drones from Israel that are being pressed into service for the first time.
A series of joint meetings between the state Director General of Naxal operations D.M. Awasthi and CRPF additional Director General Kuldeep Singh took place at Sukma and Burkapal, the two places that are the epicentres of Naxal terror. Both the senior officers are jointly managing the offensive operation.
According to police sources, a strict monitoring of all the movements in the area is being done. “The recent incidents have called for a change in strategy of security forces. We are making necessary corrections and working in coordination of all the resources available,” said Awasthi.
There are more than one dozen batallions of para-military forces in Bastar spread in the entire Dandakaranya Liberation Zone of the Maoists.
A senior CRPF official also had pressed for the need to change the strategy and quality of counter-insurgency operations, after visiting the Naxal-infested areas. However, the police does not want road construction to be stopped due to the attacks.
Even as the state is preparing to mount an attack on the Maoists, the outlaws in a recorded audio message claimed that Monday's killing was to revenge last year's incident when 24 members of the CPI (Maoist) were killed in a joint-operation by Andhra Pradesh and Odisha police near Jantri in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The audio statement stated the attack was done to stop government from carrying out their Mission-17. It claimed that roads and railway lines in Bastar are not for the benefit of the adivasis, but for extracting natural resources.
In a separate pamphlet-letter, Maoists in Antagarh of North Bastar announced that the police and CRPF jawans are their ‘friends’. They added they have no animosity against them, but the leaders sitting in Raipur. The Maoists even appealed to the jawans to pass on secret information such as details of troop movements, while promising to keep their identities anonymous.
On the other, the operations in the area are proving to be difficult due to extreme summer. Yesterday, a helicopter carrying five CRPF jawans crashed when it caught fire while trying to land at Chintagufa. However, all the five passengers were saved in the incident.
The area is still bereaving Monday's brutal attack, with the entire Dantewada district headquarters being closed yesterday in support of the security forces. This was the second major Naxal attack in two months. Twelve men were killed in the previous attack on March 11 in Bheji area.
Meanwhile, Congress state secretary Malkeet Singh, a resident of Bastar, alleged that two BJP ministers from the region Mahesh Gagda and Kedar Kashyap are hand-in-glove with the Maoists. “Why didn't the two ministers condemn the killing of 25 CRPF personnel?” he asked, questioning the relation.
