Hours after a security camp was operationalised in Chhattisgarh’s Jagargunda area, a Naxal attack killed 3 CRPF men and injured 15 others. Tekelguda village on the Sukma-Bijapur border saw a police camp getting operationalised on January 30. The area is in the heart of Naxal territory and the camp is being set up as part of the area domination exercise of central and state forces.
A statement released by Bastar police said that Naxals fired on a patrolling party that was given the charge of securing the outer cordon of the new camp. “Maoists fired on the patrolling party. CoBRA, STF, and DRG retaliated immediately. At least 6 Naxals lost their lives,” Bastar’s inspector general of police P Sundarraj said.
A combing and search operation was launched immediately after the attack.
Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai met the injured jawans who were airlifted to Raipur and Jagdalpur. The CM in a post on social media site X condemned the incident. “More than 500 naxals carried out the attack. Some survivors say the number could be as much as 1000. Since a double engine government has come to Chhatisgarh with clear intention of eliminating naxalism, CPI (Maoist) is perturbed. Today’s attack only shows their desperation. Heavy use of desi bombs inflicted damage on our forces but they fought back bravely.”
Jagargunda key to anti-Naxal strategy
Jagargunda near Sukma district where the new camp is being set up is key to the government’s anti-Naxal strategy, security officials told CNN-News18.
The three new anti-Naxal axes of security camps and road construction are at the heart of the strategy against the ultras. Sukma, which is on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border, and Bijapur, which shares a border with Maharashtra, are the focus areas of this battle against the CPI (Maoist).
Dornapal to Jagargunda, Injaram to Beji, and Kishtaram to Pallori have been marked as crucial axes to limit Naxal movements. “From Injaram, you go up to Beji. On the other side, from Chintagufa, camps and roads are being constructed to Pidmel. Together, they create a triangle which cuts off Naxal movement from Malkangiri, Odisha, to Sukma and onwards to Bijapur — a corridor that they frequented at ease earlier,” a commanding officer of CRPF told CNN-News18.
Senior officials said that setbacks like the one that happened on Tuesday are risks that will have to be taken since Naxals will resist all attempts by forces to set up their base in these areas. Sukma and Bijapur are the last two districts in Chhattisgarh where Maoist domination remains.
PLGA Battalion 1 suspected to be behind attack
PLGA Battalion 1, which was once commanded by Naxal leader Hidma, is believed to be behind the attack on Tuesday. Deva is suspected to be commanding this battalion now after Hidma became a member of the central committee. The People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) is the military wing of CPI (Maoist). Battalion 1 has gained notoriety for the audacious attacks it carried out against forces under Hidma. CPI (Maoist) had killed 23 CRPF personnel in the same area of Tekelguda in 2021.
This region on the Sukma-Bijapur border from Jagargunda to Sikler is the broad area used by PLGA for its annual training camps. A security base here would mean cutting off the free movement of Battalion 1.
Bastar IG Sundarraj said that despite the setback suffered in 2021, the forces remained committed to area domination of these jungles. He said a decision has been taken not to move the camp after the Tuesday attack.
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