At the Injiram camp of CRPF in Konta, Chhattisgarh, a war room has been set up to brief the new recruits about the anti-Naxal strategy, map out the route taken by the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), and to remind them about the losses the Naxals have inflicted.
Three red lines marked in bold on the war room map of the Red territory sum up the way the government is pushing ahead to make Dandakaranya Naxal-free.
Three New Axis
The three new anti-Naxal axis of security camps and road construction are at the heart of the strategy against the Ultras. Sukma, which is on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, and Bijapur, which shares border with Maharashtra, are the focus areas of this battle against CPI (Maoists).
Dornapal to Jagargunda, Injaram to Beji and Kishtaram to Pallori have been marked as crucial axis to limit Naxal movements. “From Injaram, you go up to Beji. On the other side, from Chintagufa, camps and roads are being constructed till Pidmel. Together, they create a triangle which cuts off Naxal movement from Malkangiri, Odisha, to Sukma and onwards to Bijapur — a corridor that they frequented at ease earlier,” NP Singh, a commanding officer of CRPF, explained.
In 2014, CRPF had lost 14 personnel — including two officers — at Chintagufa. In 2020, 17 DRG and STF men from the state police lost their life at the same location.
Bheji in 2016 saw 12 CRPF men get killed in a Naxal ambush. The road from Bheji to Chintagufa was a state highway that was blown off allegedly by Naxals, cutting off communication completely. Officers said the Chintagufa-Pidmel axis has forced PLGA to retreat from the area.
Limiting Naxal movement
As per assessment by Intelligence officials, Naxal dominance in Chhattisgarh is now limited to the Sukma-Bijapur districts and in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
One of the key Naxal commanders, Hidma, a local from Sukma, is suspected to be in the area.
A road connecting Dornapal in Sukma to Basaguda in Bijapur via Jagargunda and Silger on the border of two districts could give security forces greater area domination flexibility.
Wange Turi camp in Gadchiroli and camps between Tondamarka and Kottapalli in Sukma are key to the implementation of the strategy.
A CRPP camp in Silger saw massive protest but police officials insist this was a Naxal-manifested protest.
“Hidma is believed to be hiding towards the west bank of Chintavagu River inside battalion headquarters (PLGA battalion 1 which Hidma heads). There are three layers of protection, which means the group needs a nine square kilometre clean area to guard their commander and move about. To reach him, you need to traverse nine kilometres with forces. Plus, there is the ‘jan militia’ which gives them information,” an officer in-charge of operations explained.
Post assembly elections, the Sakler-Salartong camps in Sukma-Bijapur-Gadchiroli junctions could become operational, limiting the presence of Naxals of this area to a 40 x 40 km patch.
Reaching out to locals
IG Bastar, Chhattisgarh Police, P Sundarraj, said 65 security camps have come up in the last couple of years. “These operate as IDCs — Integrated Development Camps. They are not just meant to provide security but also ensure that PDS shops are set up to provide ration and health centres and schools come up. All benefits of government policies can reach the citizens living in these parts,” he told CNN-News18 in an exclusive conversation.
IG CRPF Chhattisgarh Saket Singh also emphasised that road axis and road construction are means to the ultimate aim of winning over the trust of people. “For decades, Naxals have pushed their ideology, not allowing mobiles or schools. Now, with the camps being set up, mobile penetration has happened and people have access to information which can defeat the Naxal propaganda,” he said.
Political fight over credit
Both the BJP and the Congress acknowledges that the area domination approach of opening camps, followed by road construction, mobile tower installation, schools, clinics, PDS set ups have helped in turning the tide against Naxals.
However, BJP has accused the Congress of hobnobbing with Naxals and leaving it to the Centre to do the heavy lifting.
Urging people to vote for BJP, Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in Jagdalpur said Naxal violence has come down by 52 per cent in nine years of the Narendra Modi government.
“There are two options before you, one is the Congress which encourages Naxalism while, on the other hand, there is the BJP which eliminates Naxalism. The Congress which sent crores of rupees of corruption to Delhi Darbar, while the BJP which is providing gas cylinders, toilets, drinking water, health facilities, grains and houses to crores of poor people,”
he said.
Countering the claim, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said: “Between 2014 and 2018, there was a double-engine government in Chhattisgarh during which Naxal-related incidents increased. After the Congress was elected to power, it implemented a strategy of development, trust and security that resulted in pushing Naxalites on the back foot. BJP has no role in it,” he said.