72 Hours Of Red Terror In India: This Is How Naxalites Are Holding Territory In India
'Fear is the key' - This dictum is used by Naxals to hold on to their `territory' in Bastar whenever they find the ground slipping from beneath their feet.
Therefore, it was not without reason that the Reds unleashed a spate of violence through four attacks in 72 hours, killing 13 combat personnel and injuring scores of others. The last of the four attacks, at Kirandul-Cholnar in Dantewada district in which Naxals used 100 kg of explosives and an under barrel grenade launcher (UPGL) to blow up an armoured anti-landmine vehicle on April 13 -was intended to send a single message both to the forces and villagers. Revenge. The reason was the setting up of a police post at Cholnar just two months ago.
"The Maoists were agitated ever since the police post was set up in February. This barred them from entering 100 villages which they ruled earlier. They coaxed the locals to take out rallies in protest of the police camp. But in vain," Dantewada SP Kamalochan Kashyap told TOI.
Analysts in Bastar said that while the attacks appeared sudden, they were meticulously planned and executed.
HOW THE REDS STAND THEIR GROUND
MAOISTS LETHAL ARMOURY
Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL): Naxals looted six of these from security forces. Used to blow up Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV) in April 13 Attack
INSAS: These light machine guns that Reds use widely are looted from jawans of CRPF, RPF, and RPSF
AK 47 and SLR: Used not just in attacks, but also training sessions. Chattisgarh cops recovered a video clip showing Naxals practicing to purportedly shoot down choppers.
sbs
Other weapons and ammo used abundantly: Rocket launchers, .315 rifles, .303 guns, IEDs, Claymore mines, grenades
WHY NAXALS HAVE A HOLD IN FOREST AREAS
REDS WORK ON TRIBALS COMBINING FEAR WITH THE NOTION THAT THE FIGHT IS FOR THEIR LAND
Reds want enforcement of the Constitution’s 5th and 9th Schedule. As per 5th schedule, governors must form advisory council of tribals to run reserve forest areas- No such council formed in any state.
9th Schedule provides for a land ceiling so land can be redistributed to landless peasants - Land reforms not implemented effectively in any state.
THE EXPANSION
2005: Nepal People’s Liberation Army (PLA) & CPI Maoist turn partners
2006 – 2008 – They meet regularly, a liaison officer stationed at Kolkata to facilitate arms supply. Ammonium Nitrate sought in exchange for sophisticated weapons.
2009: PLA cadres train Naxalites in CPI (Maoist) in Dandakaranya forest.
2010: Training by PLA in Saranda forests, Jharkhand. Carry out attacks in groups of no less than 100 Naxals, small teams harass troops in camps.
NAXAL CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Jan 26, Aug 15: Kala Diwas
Feb 10: Bhumkal Diwas
Mar 8: Antar-Rashtriya Mahila Diwas
Between Jan and July: Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign: Planned Attacks
May 1: Mazdoor Diwas
September 9: Mao Shahid Diwas
September 21: Party Sthapana Saptah
Chhattisgarh is the only Naxal affected state in India where casualties at the hands of Naxals have not gone down in last 3 years.
FOUR ATTACKS IN 3 DAYS: MAOISTS STEP UP OFFENSIVE
April 13: Five CAF Men killed, 7 injured near Kirandul Dantewada.
April 12: BSF team attacked, 1 killed near Bande, Kankar.
April 12: Naxalites set ablaze 18 heavy duty vehicles near Koral, Kankar .
April 11: Chattisgarh STF team ambushed near Kankarlanka, Sukma.
BATTLEGROUND VITALS
Districts targeted for expansion in 2015: 34
"Spot investigations showed that the IED that triggered the Kirandul Cholnar blast was planted long back but Maoists took their own time to analyse and observe movement of police vehicles. They do their homework well," said a police official at Dantewada. He added that Maoists took time to dig large crater very near to spot of the blast, hid behind bushes and also selected a small bridge as target, where usually the vehicles slow down. "The slowing down of vehicles gave time to rebels to trigger the blast," he said.
In fact, the Kirandul Cholnar blast was intended to send a bigger message as SP Kashyap himself could have been the target, according to intelligence inputs.He confirmed to TOI that he had crossed the route and was on his way to Bacheli town to alert forces following an attack on a BSF patrol less than 24 hours ago.He returned within minutes when he heard about the blast. "I returned to the spot in 15 minutes while the firing was still on," he said.
A senior police officer who was earlier posted as IG, Bastar, said that the sudden surge of Maoist violence could be attributed to surrender by a large number of cadres in recent times. "Of late, the Maoists were on backfoot. The surge in violence is meant to boost the cadre's morale," he said.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Naxals' annual Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC), characterised by massive bloodletting from April to early July, kicked off much earlier this year. Additional DGP (Naxalite Operations) Rajinder Kumar Vij told TOI that this time, Naxal violence began in February, much before the summer months. "Certainly, the sudden surge in Naxal violence coincides with the TCOC," he said. Significantly, the Naxal violence, unleashed just a couple of days before the inauguration of Raman Singh government's Lok Suraj Abhiyan, was clearly intended to jeopardise government's mass contact programme in the Naxal-hit areas.
This is not the first time when Naxals have struck in retaliation to government ef forts to reach out to people.Naxals have only followed a pattern. Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma, along with other Congress leaders, was killed in an attack when his Jan Jagran Abhiyan was at its peak.
They seem to have partially succeeded in intimidating securitymen. "They can kill us whenever they want to. It's a war zone. Keeping a low profile, we remain in camps, behave well with villagers and send a positive message to rebels, which is why we are alive till date," a CRPF company commander posted at South Bastar told TOI on conditions of anonymity .
(Originally published in the Times of India)
