Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that victims of Maoist violence from the state’s Bastar region met him on Thursday and urged him to continue the ongoing massive anti-Naxal operation along the Telangana border.
Sai was speaking to reporters about the mega anti-insurgency exercise that has entered its 11th day.
Several activists and political parties from Telangana have demanded that the operation be halted at once and that the government come forward for peace talks with Naxalites.
“Victims of Naxal violence, including those who have lost vision and limbs, from Sukma, Bijapur and Kanker districts have reached here. Through an application, they have urged me to continue the anti-Naxal operation on Karregutta hills along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border,” Sai told reporters.
The victims have claimed that several institutions and some people, right from here to Delhi, have been trying to stop this operation, the CM said.
The tribals have been bearing the brunt of Naxalism, but those who have been attempting to stop the operation and trying to create an atmosphere in its favour have never visited the victims to understand their plight, Sai said.
The victims also met the Chhattisgarh governor with a similar request, the CM said.
The intense anti-Naxal operation, titled ‘Mission Sankalp’, is underway on the sprawling hills of Karregutta and Durgamgutta along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border to track down hardcore Maoists.
Billed as one of the biggest counter-insurgency actions launched in the Bastar region, it involves around 24,000 security personnel, including from state police units of District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters, and Special Task Force, and the Central Reserve Police Force and its elite Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA), officials said.
The operation was launched on April 21 in the inaccessible terrain and dense forest spread on an area of around 800 sq km on both sides of the interstate border between Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) and Mulugu and Bhadrari-Kothagudem (Telangana), over 450 km from capital Raipur.
Meanwhile, a video purported to be of security personnel waving the Indian tricolour on the top of Karregutta hills went viral on social media, with comments that Karregutta has been reclaimed.
When asked about the video, a senior official monitoring the operation at the ground told PTI, “Less than 50 per cent of the task has been done so far as there is a huge area which is yet to be scanned. The major task is yet to be done. Hoping for the best outcome.” The outcome of an anti-Naxal operation is not only determined by the number of Naxals killed or the number of weapons recovered, the official said.
“Clearing the area from the control of the banned Maoist outfit and making the land safe again for the native population is also an important objective of the operation,” he added.
The area where the operation is underway is considered a safe hideout of the PLGA (people’s liberation guerrilla army) battalion No. 1, the strongest military formation of Maoists, the official said.
Inputs suggested over 500 Naxalites belonging to PLGA battalion No. 1, Telangana state committee (TSC) and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of Maoists led by dreaded leaders, including Central Committee Members Chandrana, Ramachandra Reddy, Sujatha, Hidma, batallion commander Barse Deva, were holed up in the area, he said.
“More than 24,000 state and central forces are involved directly and indirectly in the operation aimed at clearing the area from the hold of DKSZC, TSC, PLGA battalion no. 1 and Central Regional Committee (CRC) company,” he said.
The Maoist units had been using the area as a safe hideout to execute their nefarious plan against the innocent native population and security forces, he said.
Helicopters and drones are also involved in the operation, he added.
On April 24, three women Naxalites were gunned down on Karregutta hills, and a huge cache of weapons and explosives was recovered by security forces during the operation.
On April 27, former Telangana CM and BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao had urged the Centre to halt the operation, alleging that tribals and youth are being killed in Chhattisgarh under its guise.
The same day, a group of intellectuals and others urged Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy to make efforts to persuade the Centre to announce a ceasefire and agree to peace talks with the CPI (Maoists).
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