Naxalites On The Run: Security Forces Turn Up The Heat As Eight Killed In Fifth Major Encounter In The Last Two Months

The Indian security forces are increasing the heat on the Naxals in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Just yesterday (23 May), a total of eight terrorists were killed in two separate encounters in the forests between the districts of Narayanpur and Bijapur.

In the first encounter, security forces with approximately 1,000 personnel from Bastar Fighters, District Reserve Guards (DRG), and Special Task Force (STF) set out on a search operation after a tip-off about the presence of Naxalites from Military Platoon Number 16 and Indravati Area Committee in the border area between Narayanpur and Bijapur.

At around 11 am, Naxalites fired at the forces.

In retaliatory fire by the security forces, seven bodies were recovered. In the morning (24 May), when the joint team was returning from the encounter site, another Naxalite fired at the forces. His body was later found in the forest.

The encounter site is close to 40 kilometres from the Dantewada district headquarters and is the first major operation in the area after almost four years.

A total of 113 Naxalites have been killed in various encounters since the start of this year. This is the largest number of Naxalites killed in a year since the creation of Chhattisgarh in 2000.

For comparison, only 65 Naxals were killed in 2019.

This is the fifth major encounter in the region in the last two months and the second one in May.

On 30 April, 10 Naxalites were killed on the border of Narayanpur and Kanker districts of Chhattisgarh.

A fortnight preceding this encounter, on 16 April, which is said to be the largest encounter in the state's history, 29 Naxalites were killed in southern Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.

On 2 April, another encounter in the Lenda forest of Bijapur killed 13 Naxals, launched after a tip-off about the presence of Naxal commander Papa Rao. This operation was conducted by a joint team of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

And finally, on 27 March, another six Naxals were killed in Bijapur's Basaguda forests.

These dense forests, which the Naxals call "Abhujmad" or “the unknown hills", is a large forest tract of more than 4000 sq km, making them ideal hiding spots. In fact, these forests, with a size as big as Goa, have not even been surveyed by the government of India.

Whenever security forces launch operations to flush out the Naxals, they very easily flee to Maharashtra in the west, Andhra Pradesh to the south, Telangana to the southwest, and Odisha to the east.

Now, with the renewed push by the central government over the last few years from all four sides, the area of operation for Naxals is shrinking. Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are setting up camps inside these forests to increase their reach and area of patrolling.

According to a report, since the BJP government came back to power in Chhattisgarh last year, new camps have been established even along the entry points of Abhujmad.

Two of the major ones are in Kanker in the north and Narayanpur in the east, apart from the camp established across the Kotri river. This has limited the area of movement for the Naxals and has expanded the reach of the security forces, hence the frequent encounters.