Chhattisgarh: Road Connecting Village of ‘Most Wanted Naxal’ of Bastar May Weaken Maoists’ Strongest Military Formation
Hidma was the first commander of the battalion number one and was replaced by Barsa Deva, a hardcore Naxal hailing from Puvarti village, in the position after he was inducted in CC, the policy making body of the ultras.
Raipur: A 13 km-long road, being constructed by the Border Road Organization (BRO) along the borders of the districts of Sukma and Bijapur in south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, may deplete the strength of Maoists’ battalion number one, considered the strongest military formation of the Naxals, counterinsurgency experts said on Monday.
The under-construction road between Puvarti in Sukma district and Silger in Bijapur district is set to connect north Bastar and south Bastar, ensuring smooth movement of forces in the region, known as the red’s battalion number one area.
Puvarti is a native village of Hidma Madvi, the Central Committee (CC) member of outlawed CPI (Maoist).
Hidma is listed as the ‘most wanted Naxal’ of Chhattisgarh.
“Majority of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) members of the Maoists’ battalion number one hail from around two dozen villages situated along the villages situated along Puvarti and Silger”, a senior police officer in Sukma district told this newspaper.
Hidma was the first commander of the battalion number one and was replaced by Barsa Deva, a hardcore Naxal hailing from Puvarti village, in the position after he was inducted in CC, the policy making body of the ultras.
Around 30-40 hardcore Maoists who have been deployed in the three-layer security of Hidma hail from Puvarti and the nearby villages, the police officer said, unwilling to be quoted.
A Forward Operating Base (FOB) was opened in Puvarti around six months ago by the security forces to breach the battalion number one area, till now considered impregnable for them.
“Security forces have of late made inroads into the battalion number one area along the borders of Sukma and Bijapur districts, leading to at least three major encounters between them. Several Maoist leaders were eliminated in these encounters”, the police officer said.
The Maoists’ military strength will be depleted considerably if their battalion number one weakens, the police officer said.
Security forces have already hit the fledgling battalion number two of Maoists, deployed in the Abujhmad area of Narayanpur district in south Bastar, hard, sources said.
“The security forces have denied the Maoists to build the nascent battalion number two to its full strength by launching several successful counterinsurgency operations in their area in the last six months, leading to killing of more than 100 Naxals”, the police officer said.
With Union home minister Amit Shah setting a target to end Leftwing extremism in the country by March 2025, security forces have gunned down 121 Maoists including several top Naxal leaders in Bastar, comprising seven districts, in the current year so far.
