End of red terror in Bastar
– Photo : Amar Ujala
Expansion
In view of the government’s resolve to root out the Naxalite problem by March 2026, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has prepared a strategy to wage a decisive battle in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. Under this, four battalions i.e. about 4,000 soldiers are being deployed in the areas most affected by Naxal violence.
Official sources said that the CRPF has called back three battalions from Jharkhand and one from Bihar. This decision was taken in view of the relative decrease in Naxalite activities in both these states. The soldiers of this force, which plays an important role in the internal security of the country and anti-Naxal operations, are being prepared to be deployed in the no-go area of Bastar, located about 500 km south of Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. This strategy has been made at a time when Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in Raipur last month that a strong and strict action plan is needed to completely wipe out Left Wing Extremism (LWE) by March 2026. Sources said that CRPF’s 159, 218, 214 and 22 battalions are being deployed to further strengthen the existing force taking on the Naxalites of Chhattisgarh, in which each battalion has about 1,000 soldiers.
Officials said these battalions are being deployed in remote districts of Dantewada and Sukma and areas along the state borders with Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “These new units are being provided logistics support through armoured vehicles, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), dog squads, communication sets and ration supplies,” they said.
Will build advance bases with Cobra soldiers
A senior CRPF officer said that these jawans along with CRPF’s Cobra units will establish more forward operational bases (FOBs) in remote areas of the districts so that development work can be started after securing the area. In the last three years, CRPF has built about 40 FOBs in Chhattisgarh. However, there are many challenges in setting up such bases, such as Maoists ambushing and attacking the jawans with explosive devices.
Naxalite incidents decreased by 53 percent in a decade
- Home Minister Shah had said in Raipur on August 24 that in comparison to 2004-14, there has been a 53 percent reduction in incidents of Naxalite violence in the country in the last decade
- 16,274 incidents of Naxalite violence were recorded in the year 2004-14, while during 2014-24 it decreased to 7,696. At the same time, the number of deaths due to Naxalite violence also decreased from 6,568 in 2004-14 to 1,990 in 2014-24
