A few days ago, Naxals in Chhattisgarh had in a letter threatened to attack the security forces, who, they claimed, were exploiting the locals and creating problems for them.
Clearly, the attack on the District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel on the Aranpur road in Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday showed that the warning was ignored and no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was followed in the combing operation.
At least 10 personnel of the DRG and a civilian have been killed in an IED blast by Naxals in the district after a lull of violence for nearly a year.
According to the protocol, security forces can move forward during an operation only after receiving intelligence inputs and after sanitisation of the route
Sometimes, the security forces also take help of the Road Opening Party (ROP) who ensure that there is no threat to the convoy.
Sources told News18 that no intelligence was gathered to sanitise the route when the DRG team was leaving for the headquarters.
According to sources, the DRG had left their headquarters for conducting an anti-Naxal operation. The team began to move after it received a tip-off on the Naxal presence in Aranpur. When the team was returning to their headquarters, an IED planted on the Aranpur road exploded, killing the 10 jawans and their driver.
It is learnt The DRG vehicle was already on the radar of the Naxals, who were tracking the route and movement of the convoy.
The party also didn’t change the route and used the same way which is another lapse at the level of planning.
The DRG was formed to carry out anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. It has inducted locals in the force, especially from the Bastar region, and has performed several anti-Naxal operations.
Naxals have also threatened to attack the local leaders in a letter a few days ago.
Naxals’ annual Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) is ongoing, which is undertaken from April to June where they get more aggressive and strengthen their cadres. They launch big attacks on security forces during the campaign. It’s an annual affair and forces remain on alert during this time.
The last major attack by the Naxals took place in April 2021 when at least 22 security personnel lost their lives in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. Around 31 sustained injuries in the firing during the anti-insurgency operation on April 4, 2021. CRPF’s CoBRA unit, DRG, and the Special Task Force were attacked in the operation by the Naxals.
Attacks by Naxals on the Rise in Chhattisgarh since 2019
According to the home ministry data, the Naxal incidents have been increasing every year since 2019 except for 2021. The data shared in February said 182 attacks were carried out by Naxal in 2019, which increased to 241 in 2020. But the number of incidents declined to 188 in 2021. In 2022, a total of 246 incidents were reported.
Also, the casualties of jawans increased from 10 in 2022 to 18 this year.
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