Rajahmundry: In a move to check the growing influence of Maoists, the police managed to cut-off their logistic support by arresting 27 militia members and local area commanders in Chintur agency of East Godavari, in the last few days. The Maoists have been taking the help of militia members and local commanders to plant IEDs targeting security personnel. They either abduct or kill the local tribals, branding them as police informants.
To thwart any attempt by the Maoists to infiltrate into the Chintur agency area from the common border of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and TS, the police have nearly wiped out their local contacts. Out of the 27 militia members arrested, 15 are hard-core members. The Maoists are dependent upon these militia members to procure explosive material and to assemble the IEDs.
The militia members go to quarry areas such as Yeleswaram, and obtain the explosive materials by threatening contractors there. The material is smuggled into Chhattisgarh, where it is assembled into IEDs by a technical team. It is then returned to militia members who fine-tune the assembly, and add minor parts to suit their needs.
In case, the IED is intended to target security personnel who patrol the local villages, it does not need to be very powerful. If it is intended to target vehicles carrying security personnel, and if the IED is to be placed under road culverts, it needs to be much more powerful. The Maoists also rely on local militia to identify persons suspected to be police informants. The militia lead the Maoists to their homes, where they are either killed or abducted.
Local militia members provide Maoists with the money, commodities and food supply necessary for them to infiltrate villages and interact with villagers to inculcate their ideology. Chintur OSD Dr Fakeerappa Kagineeli said, “We have almost wiped out the logistic support to the Maoists by arresting a large number of militia members in Chintur agency. Without any local support, the Maoists will never risk venturing into the Agency area. We expect a lull in the violent activities in the area, in the days ahead. It will take the Maoists some time to re-establish the lost connections.”
