'The (Maoist) organisation is in visible decline. Their senior leaders are ageing. Forest life is unforgiving -- older leaders simply cannot cope physically.' 'Earlier, they attracted educated youth from cities. That stream has dried up. Today's recruits largely come from poor village backgrounds and lack ideological depth.'
Maoists have admitted that 28 cadres, including their top leader Basavaraju, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region last week. The Naxals also claimed that some of their cadres had surrendered to police and provided information that led to the operation. Police have recovered a large cache of weapons, including an AK-47 looted by Basavaraju from security forces in a 2010 ambush.
Moti Ram Awalam (30) was an active member of "PLGA Battalion No 1", considered the strongest military formation of the outlawed movement, headed by wanted Maoist "commander" Hidma, and was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, a police official said.
Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said.
Fearing imminent arrest and likely reprisals from the CRPF -- 25 of whose jawans were gunned down by the Maoists inside a jungle just 200 to 300 metres away from their homes on the afternoon of April 24 -- young Adivasi men and women in Burkapal abandoned their homes and fled into the jungle.
Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com travelled 650 km in Chhattisgarh's Sukma and Bijapur districts to report on the situation that exists 11 days after the Burkapal ambush, where 25 CRPF troops were killed by the Maoists.
Cops said during interrogation, they admitted to their involvement in the attack.
Hidma Madavi, who had a Rs 12 lakh reward on his head, was arrested without a single bullet being fired.
While they were cordoning-off a forested patch near Pariya village, the Naxals triggered an IED.
An elusive figure, Hidma is a top leader of the outlawed Naxal outfit CPI (Maoist) and has been on the radar of security agencies for many years.
The Maoist who has emerged as the major threat to the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district.
Avenging the Sukma attack, security forces claim to have gunned down 12-15 Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Basaguda-Chintalnar area on Sunday.
In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, had launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
Acting Director General of the CRPF, Sudeep Lakhtakia said the ambush has "naturally called for the revision of standard operating procedures" in these areas.
An injured jawan said around 10-12 Naxalites must have got killed in the 'befitting' retaliation by the CRPF contingent.
The jawans inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED, triggering the blast that left SI B S Bist and head constable Sudhakar injured.
The operation was conducted between June 23 and 25, the police said.
CRPF troopers confront loneliness, poor network connectivity, poor work conditions, dismal work-life balance, and immense psychological stress.
Roads are of great importance to win the war against the rebels in Sukma
"The villagers came first, and then the Naxalites, dressed in black. They were some 300 Naxalites, all wearing black," a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force said.
He said in most of the Naxal attacks, it has been noticed that villagers were used as human shields by the insurgents during the gun battle.
Post K Durga Prasad's retirement as the last full-time chief of the Central Reserved Police Force on February 28, the Union home ministry had appointed Additional DG Sudeep Lakhtakia to hold the charge in "additional" capacity.
'Naxals, when they encountered our commandos on Sunday morning, fired first.' 'We gave them warnings to surrender, but they continued firing.' 'Ultimately, our commandos responded in self-defence and that resulted in the death of 37 Naxals.'
Two Naxals were also gunned down in these face-offs.
Over 100 Naxals on Wednesday ambushed a team of security forces in Chhattisgarh's tribal belt of Bastar on the eve of Lok Sabha polls, killing three commandos of CRPF's CoBRA battalion and injuring five others including two officers in twin attacks.
The Maoists squad 'very discreetly with the aid of locals' kept tracking the movement of the troops when one party of 36, out of the total three, sat down for launch, the strong squad of Naxals, possessing sophisticated weapons, took them by surprise.
A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each.
'The Naxalite strategy is to periodically attack police forces to provoke a reaction.' 'Once the security forces over-react and cause suffering to innocents by high-handed actions, the people will be alienated and support the revolution.' 'This appears to be the Naxalites' strategy and hence, their recent brutal killings of policemen,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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