21-day ‘biggest-ever op’ leaves 31 Maoists dead

BIJAPUR: A 21-day anti-Maoist operation in Karreguttalu Hills (KGH) on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border — headquarters of the most lethal of CPI(Maoist) wings, the PLGA Battalion No 1, and housing its arms manufacturing units in the natural cave formations within — culminated on May 11, leaving scores of senior Maoists dead, with 31 bodies recovered, and segregated the Centrally-located Maoist command into 8-10 smaller, dislocated units with a massively depleted arsenal and armed capabilities.Hailing ‘Operation Blackforest’ — conducted from April 21 to May 11 by the Chhattisgarh Police’s special task force (STF) and district reserve guard (DRG) as well as CRPF — as “the biggest ever operation against Naxalism”, home minister Amit Shah in a post on X on Wednesday shared that the tricolour now flies proudly “on the hill where red terror once reigned”.“KGH was the unified headquarters of big Naxal organisations like PLGA Battalion 1, DKSZC, TSC & CRC, where along with Naxal training, strategies and weapons were also developed. Our security forces completed this biggest anti-Naxal operation in just 21 days and I am extremely happy that there was not a single casualty among the security forces,” Shah said as he congratulated CRPF, STF and DRG soldiers for facing the Naxalites “with exemplary courage even in adverse weather and treacherous terrain”.Eighteen security personnel injured in the operation are out of danger and recovering. The 28 neutralised Naxalites identified so far include 2 divisional committee members and 11 PLGA battalion fighters; they together carried a reward of Rs 1.72 crore.“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, we are determined to root out Naxalism. I once again assure the countrymen that India is sure to be Naxal-free by 31 March 2026,” said Shah.Addressing a joint press conference here Wednesday, Chhattisgarh DGP Arun Dev Gautam said the forces defied challenging terrain, extreme temperatures and rainstorms, threats from wild animals and a web of landmines laid by the nearly 350 Maoists operating in the area, to reclaim KGH after killing at least 31 Maoists, including 16 women cadres. Around 250 caves running through the hills — which housed 4 arms manufacturing units with leth machines and weapon dumps holding 818 barrel grenade launchers; 35 automatic and semi-automatic weapons, 303 and INSAS rifles; 450 IEDs; cordex wires; besides 216 hideouts and bunkers; and 12,000 kg of food supplies and medicines — were cleared.DG CRPF G P Singh said the operation has busted yet another major Maoist stronghold after Chakrabanda in Bihar and Burapahar in Jharkhand. “The Maoist leadership and senior cadres who were congregated in the KGH hideout have been dislocated and segregated into smaller groups. The disjointed military formations have been forced to take shelter in different places,” he said. A source said this affects the CPI (Maoist) command structure and operational capabilities as the scattered groups cannot congregate for a big operation at short notice; also, it would be easier for the forces to go after them.Though the main objective of the operation was to neutralise top Maoist leaders like Hidma, the difficult topography of the hills made it difficult for the forces to assess the fatalities inflicted. But senior police and paramilitary official agreed that “the Maoists’ weaponry, arms and explosives emptied during the operation will significantly reduce their armed capabilities”.“Their technical units were busted and any attempt now by the scattered groups of Maoists, to reestablish contact will be detected through technical surveillance. Maoists are now possibly taking shelter in disjointed groups across national park area, West Bastar, south Bastar and parts of Telangana. Also, there seems to be some mistrust between the CPI Maoist leadership in Telangana and Chattisgarh. All this has put the Maoists on the backfoot,” said a senior officer.The CRPF DG said the once heavily-mined KGH hills have undergone several rounds of sanitisation, and the residual IEDs will also be de-mined soon. “Once this is done, the hills will be opened up for access by the locals,” he said adding that CRPF will be holding the area by setting up forward operating bases there.Gautam said Operation Blackforest — which displayed excellent coordination between the intelligence agencies, CRPF, Chhattisgarh Police, with Indian Air Force and BSF providing their choppers for airdropping rations and supplies and airlifting personnel and Telangana assisting CRPF on its side of KGH — has busted the Maoists’ belief that the area is their “impregnable” fortress.