DNA Special: When will government put an end to 'Red Terror'?

In today's show, Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary will talk about the jawans who lost their lives in the attack by Maoists near Jonnaguda village along the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhatisgarh's Bijapur.

22 security personnel lost their lives while several sustained injuries after a party of jawans were ambushed by Maoists.

Over 2,000 police personnel drawn from CRPF’s elite CoBRA unit, and the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) walked into a deadly trap of Maoists in deep jungle in a rebel-dominated patch in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bastar, purely on an unverified intelligence input that top Naxal commander Madvi Hidma was holed up at a hilly site along with his colleagues.

But as it turned out the input was basically a well-planned trap of the Maoist guerrillas as they gunned down 22 security personnel and walked away with their weapons too.

Naxal terror has troubled India for decades. It has become like a common ritual, to pay respects and shed tears for the soldiers when such an incident occurs, and then we hope that it will not happen next time. But there is always a next time and this needs to be stopped.

These soldiers did not lose their lives fighting terrorists on borders or soldiers of an enemy nation, but they were killed in an attack by our own people.

We, therefore, demand that Madvi Hidma, who is the mastermind of this attack, should be caught and punished even before we nab Hafiz Saeed, who operates from a different country.

The priority should be to nab the Naxalites and end the movement once and for all.

Hidma alias Hidamanna is one of the most wanted terror faces in the mineral-rich Bastar. A top commander of the Naxals, Hidma is the leader of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla army’s (PLGa) battalion number 1.

This indicates that the group may carry out more attacks like these in near future. Hence, the Indian government must act before something untoward happens again.

Hidma is 40 years old. He has been active in the naxal-affected area of Chhatisgarh for the last 25 years. Incidentally, he is also a part of a 20-member central committee of CPI(M).

Hidma is tribal from Sukma district’s Puvarti village and he joined hands with the rebels in the 1990s. Known for his deadly ambushes, the brutal commander leads 180 to 250 Maoist fighters, including women. He is also a part of the Maoists Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee (DKSZ).

To avenge the Pulwama attack in which 40 of our soldiers were killed, we conducted airstrikes in Pakistan. We also conducted a surgical strike to avenge our soldier's deaths. We need something similar to be done here.

It is easy to fight against enemies across the border, but the battle becomes tough when it is against own people. People who are helping Naxalites like Hidma, give them money, arms and other support belong to this very country.

If not brought under control, one day these Naxalites will enter our cities and homes and then it would be too late. The government should, therefore, act quickly and put an end to the 'Red Terror'.