Security forces penetrate deep into the forest, forcing the rebels to strike out in other areas.
In what is probably the biggest military setback for the CPI (Maoist), security forces have, for the first time ever, penetrated deep inside Abujhmadh forest, which extends between Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh.
Long considered impregnable because of the treacherous terrain and the dominating presence of the Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the Abujhmadh forest also gives shelter to the politburo and the central committee of the CPI (Maoist), and has an extensive network of Janatana Sarkar units.
According to an Intelligence Bureau (IB) note sent to the national security advisor Shivshankar Menon, among other top officials, the operation, which involved large joint teams (about 2,000 highly trained personnel) is still continuing.
Sources said that the rise in Maoist activity in Odisha and Jharkhand, particularly the abduction of two Italians and the Biju Janata Dal MLA from Laxmipur, Jhina Hikaka, could be a ploy to ease the pressure mounted by the security forces in Abujhmadh, and deflect it into other areas since continuing action in Abujhmadh could erode the strongest base of the CPI (Maoist).
Security forces in other Maoist-affected districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and Bihar have been put on alert, Maoists could strike elsewhere to ease the pressure in Abujhmadh, sources added.
“We suspect that many of the remaining top Maoist leaders, including general secretary Muppala Lakshmana Rao, popularly known as Ganapathi, are holed up in Abujhmadh, and the battle will get bloody as security forces move further inside. They have already penetrated 30-40 km deep, which was unthinkable till recently,” sources in the CRPF said.
The incursions into Abujhmadh by four joint teams of security forces comprising of 150 personnel each were initiated on March 5, from the Killam area under Mardapal police station in Kondagaon district and Chhotedongar police station in Narayanpur district.
“The incursions have resulted in the arrest of more than three dozen Maoists, which include Jan Militia, Janatana Sarkar and Sangham members. Huge quantities of arms, ammunition and land mines have also been recovered,” a CRPF official told DNA.
The IB note said the exercise would result in capacity augmentation of the security forces who have conducted extensive manoeuvres in a difficult terrain, while incursions into the base area of the CPI (Maoist) would also deter the outfit from setting up a large-scale permanent infrastructure in the region.
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