Smruthik Rajanala (32), the Additional Superintendent of Police (Naxal operations), Dantewada, had his work cut out. He was to lead over 100 personnel to execute a meticulous plan of reaching a Maoist hideout — deep inside hostile territory — in 12 hours, covering a distance of 16 kilometres in pitch darkness without raising an alarm.
He was to coordinate with his counterpart, Deputy SP Prashant Dewangan, and his team coming in from Narayanpur, as well as the Special Task Force, to surround the Maoists before the first ray of sunlight could alert them.
It was this pinpoint coordination that went into the single largest Maoist encounter in Chhattisgarh’s 24-year history — the toll stood at 31 on Saturday — conducted without the security forces suffering a single casualty.
Importantly, it came deep inside Abujhmad, long considered a Maoist stronghold and a key focus area in the fight against Naxalism.
In fact, of the 188 Maoists killed this year, at least 100 have been gunned down in Abujhmad, police say.
Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, told The Indian Express that close to 50 anti-Maoist operations were undertaken this year as part of “Maad Bachao Abhiyan (Save Maad campaign)” — including nine major operations since April.
“This year, a series of anti-Naxal operations were conducted in the core of Abhujmad as well as in its periphery. These operations have dealt a significant blow to Maoist activities in the region. The objective is to ensure Maoists don’t get any safe zone in Abhujmad or any other region in Bastar. Now their leadership and cadres are left with only one option – to shun violence and join the mainstream,” he said.
Security forces now claim to have covered about 50 percent of Abujhmad — a largely unsurveyed land that’s bigger than Goa.
A while before Friday’s encounter was planned, the State Intelligence Branch (SIB) had provided the security forces specific inputs on the presence of senior Maoist cadres around Tultuli village in Abujhmad, approximately 50 kilometres from Dantewada headquarters. It was suspected that members of company number 6 and platoon 16 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) — an armed wing of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoists) — and senior members of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) were present there.
A coordinated attack was planned by the District Reserve Guards (DRG) from Narayanpur and Dantewada districts, along with the STF.
The biggest challenge was to launch an operation across Indravati river, where there are no police camps.
Bodies of Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces personnel, placed at the Police Line in Dantewada on Saturday. (PTI Photo)According to sources, the security personnel trekked the distance on an amavas (no moon) night, and had to be mindful not to step on improvised explosive devices, the most dangerous weapon in the Maoist arsenal.
“The DRG jawans have been part of many deadly encounters and their experience of conducting night operations was a big advantage. They carried 10-15 kg of material on their shoulders. Due to the monsoon, water in the river and the nullahs had not receded, adding to the difficulties of walking in hilly terrain, but our jawans showed bravery,” said SP, Dantewada, Gaurav Rai.
ASP Rajanala told The Indian Express, “My biggest challenge was to keep my men motivated as we knew the enemy is strong and heavy fire is expected. The company number 6 of PLGA is their (Communist Party of India Maoist’s) second best team after battalion 1. We knew the firepower they had and one mistake could lead to many casualties.”
Before sunrise, the forces managed to surround the Maoists, forming a circle with a circumference of 5-6 kilometres.
The encounter began around Friday noon and firing went on for seven to eight hours, ending only at 8 pm. Over 2,000 bullets and hundreds of grenades were fired at the security forces, officials said. A jawan suffered a splinter injury and was evacuated from the spot.
According to sources, the rebels made a single formation and tried to squeeze out by continuously firing on one side of the security cordon, but the forces retaliated and foiled the attempt.
By Saturday, 15 Maoists had been identified, with officials saying they have a total bounty of Rs 1.3 crore on them.
A senior police officer said these Naxals – 18 men and 31 women – were involved in killing around 50 jawans in Bastar over the past two decades.
The most high profile name is Niti alias Urmila, a DKSZC member and former east Bastar division in charge, with a bounty of Rs 25 lakh. She is the fourth DKSZC member to have been killed this year.
Aged around 46, Niti had been part of the Naxal organisation since 1998. DKSZC is the Naxals’ state-level committee and is third in the hierarchy, below the central level committee and the politburo.
An LMG, four AK57 rifles, six SLR rifles, three INSAS rifles and two .303 rifles were recovered from the Naxals, apart from rifles of other calibre rifles and locally made weapons, including grenade launchers.
Sundarraj said that in 2024, security forces have “succeeded in neutralising 188 Naxals”, while 706 have been arrested and 733 have surrendered.
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