‘Biggest encounter’ in Chhattisgarh: Setback for Maoists but it all can fritter away sans adequate follow up

Insurgencies go through periods of high and low. For the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), however, the lean patch has continued for far too long, giving credence to the official claims that the outfit could have reached a point of frailty, from which recovery isn’t a possibility.

On October 4, a meticulously planned encounter, following an intelligence input of extremists’ presence, by the security force personnel in Chhattisgarh state achieved its purpose. Over 1,000 personnel of the Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guards (DRG) trekked for 12 hours in the dead of night through the 16-kilometre forested stretch, crossing rivulets, hills, and slushy ground beneath to confront a group of extremists. Another group of policemen approached the identified location from a different direction. The encirclement was complete.

The extremists’ last-ditch attempt to form a single file formation to escape was foiled by the troops, who were well-positioned to take aim and shoot to kill. Still, about 2,000 rounds of bullets and hundreds of grenades had to be launched as the extremists belonging to Company-6 of the CPI-Maoist’s armed wing, the PLGA, Platoon 16, and East Bastar Division, fought to survive. At the end of the eight-hour exchange of fire, 31 CPI-Maoist cadres lay dead. An array of weapons was recovered. Although among the killed was only one senior cadre—a 46-year-old female member of the group’s Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), the loss of 18 male and 13 female cadres in a single encounter is a huge blow. None of the security force personnel suffered any casualties except one who suffered a splinter injury. That demonstrates the advantageous position the security force personnel managed to occupy.

Steady Losses

A total of 188 extremists have been killed in Chhattisgarh in 2024 alone, including the ones in October. Another 706 have been arrested, and 733 have surrendered, according to the state police sources. Of the 188, over 100 have been killed in Abujhmaad, which once was infamous for its impregnability and being an extremist bastion. Striking deep into the unchartered territory, the police claim to have ‘covered’ over 50 per cent of the region’s territory. It has taken close to 50 operations in 2024, including nine major ones since April, to achieve this feat. The October 4 encounter occurred almost 20 kilometres from the nearest police station. The ‘Save Maad campaign’ of the security establishment, which camouflages the intense security force operations underway in the region, is achieving its unstated objective of annihilating the extremists.

Achievements by the security forces in parts of Chhattisgarh make the life of the Maoists, who are constantly losing their stronghold areas, extremely difficult. For instance, in the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region, the CPI-Maoist activity has come to a standstill since the last quarter of 2023. The group’s Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC)’s push for regaining lost ground hasn’t been successful, forcing senior leaders to flee to Chhattisgarh. In December 2023, official estimates indicated the presence of only 20 cadres in the area, a far cry from 500 cadres not so long ago.

What’s Changed?

The security force personnel in Chhattisgarh now enjoy a free hand to ‘get the job done’. The objective is to end left-wing extremism or naxalism in the country and do so quickly in the next couple of years. Past attempts to initiate a dialogue with the extremists have been met with conditions set by the CPI-Maoist that the government is unwilling to consider. The government’s mission, in the words of senior police officials, is to neutralise the CPI-Maoist and end its domination over Abujhmaad. The state’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has enjoyed unequivocal support from the central government, also led by the same party.

In this job, where intelligence and familiarity with the terrain and Maoist tactics play a key role, the government has discovered the utility of the District Reserve Guards (DRGs)—consisting of former militia members of the infamous Salwa Judum movement, which was disbanded by the Supreme Court due to its rampant human rights violations. The Salwa Judum/DRG cadres are mostly the surrendered Maoists who know how the extremists play their game. And this has resulted in steady successes. In almost all the successful operations that the police list for 2024 and before, DRGs have played a crucial role. Not surprisingly, police officials interviewed by the media after the encounter vouched for the ability of the DRG boys to ‘carry 15 kilograms of load on their back, walk silently, and through hostile terrain’—all from the extremist’s playbook.

Notwithstanding the achievements in Abujhmaad (Dantewada and Narayanpur districts), however, in other adjoining areas, especially South Bastar’s Bijapur and Sukma districts, Maoists command significant influence. Media reports have indicated how CPI-Maoist’s diktats have affected the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) membership campaign in the area, forcing the party to shift from offline to online mode. CPI-Maoist cadres are reportedly visiting villages, checking the phones of the villages to see whether they indeed have joined the political party. Retribution is likely if the check reveals anything suspicious.

Tail Piece

Despite the losses, the CPI-Maoist isn’t anywhere close to extinction. Abujhmaad’s impregnability hasn’t been fully breached. The security forces claim to have carried out operations in 50 per cent of the total 4,000 square kilometres area of the region. But that does not amount to establishing area dominance, which is crucial in counter-insurgency campaigns. The CPI-Maoist’s top leadership and senior cadres remain mostly unharmed, as the bulk of the killed are low-rung cadres, many of whom don’t even carry weapons. Niti, the female member killed, carried bounty money of Rs 2.5 million. 14 of them and 30 others who have been identified by the police carried another Rs 9.5 million, which is a small average head money normally assigned to lower-rung listed cadres. Niti was the fourth DKSZC member to have been killed this year.

The biggest challenge also is to keep the momentum in the counter-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh and also in other neighbouring states, which may provide easy escape routes and havens to the extremists should they plan to relocate to evade the heat of operations.

Police, however, hope that such incessant onslaughts and significant cadre loss will force the extremists to ‘shun violence and become join the mainstream’. However, it is here that the police’s imaginations could be off-target. The achievements of the security force personnel could be frittered away if administrative and governance actions don’t follow up. That has remained a peculiar problem for all extremism-affected Indian states.

For instance, Gawadi village, closest to the site of the October 4 encounter, following sustained security force operations and clearing the area of Maoist presence, has witnessed several government initiatives in the past year. Apart from a cell phone tower installed in the past few months that provides unstable connectivity to the area, the administration also installed a borewell in August. Solar panels were provided for a few houses. Villagers, however, say that the entire village of about 120 people is still dependent on the rivulets, as a single borewell isn’t sufficient for the entire village. The rivulets, however, go dry for six months a year. They demand solar panels for all houses, not just a select few. Some villagers want better health facilities and a school while remaining opposed to a police station. Some of them don’t want a road connecting the village to the nearest development block of Orchha, 20 kilometres away, either. While the police blame this on the ‘pro-Maoist orientation’ of the villagers, the latter are fearful of inviting the wrath of the extremists, who are known to have eliminated ‘police informers’.

The October 4 encounter was the biggest in Chhattisgarh’s history. The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Vishnu Deo Sai, briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the governance and digital push that is making a difference in the state and thanked the PM for his support. The PM reportedly endorsed the state government’s steps. This political congeniality apart, one of the main challenges for the state administration is to find a middle ground to meet the rising expectations of people in areas cleared of Maoist presence and also to allay their apprehensions regarding intervention by a state that is largely seen as ‘opportunistic and exploitative’. The shackles will have to be unlocked gradually while building trust and confidence.

The writer is the Director of Mantraya, a Goa-based research forum and the author of ‘National Security Decision-making in India’. He formerly served as a Deputy Director in the National Security Council Secretariat. He tweets @BibhuRoutray and can be contacted at bibhuroutray@gmail.com. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.