Center claims that Jharkhand and Bihar are practically Maoist-free. CPRPF DG Kuldeep Singh said the day before yesterday that Maoists have little influence in one district each of Bihar and Jharkhand. But there is no place in those two states where the paramilitary cannot go. At the same time, he claimed that there is no presence of Maoists in West Bengal. According to Kuldeep, the fight between the Maoists and paramilitary forces across the country is at a critical juncture. Maoists are losing their land each day. Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the success of the Aadha Sena by tweeting the day before yesterday.
Last week, the CRPF was successful in launching an operation in the Budha Hills in the border area of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Kuldeep claimed that the area was under the control of Maoists for 32 years. CRPF recently launched an operation (nicknamed ‘Operation Octopus’) based on specific information. Maoists retreated after the clash. Many were arrested. Several people were killed. The DG of CRPF claims that the paramilitary forces have set up multiple camps in the area after freeing the Maoists. The helipad is designed for paramilitary personnel to quickly deliver supplies or evacuate the wounded.
Statement from IPS officer
Apart from Budha Hills, the Chakrabandha Bhimbandha area of Bihar has also recently been liberated from Maoists by paramilitary forces. Based on that success, Kuldeep claimed that Maoists have no influence in a large part of eastern India including Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal. He said, “Now in some places, the Maoists have only taken money by scaring the contractors. Besides, they have no influence.” Paramilitary sources claim that the groups who are collecting the money have been identified. The campaign will be launched soon.
Maoists have a presence in 39 districts of the country. They are responsible for 90 percent of the violence in 25 districts. Most of those districts are in Chhattisgarh. Kuldeep said that the state’s ‘Operation Thunderstorm’ is underway to suppress Maoists. According to him, the resistance of the Maoists, who are gradually becoming extinct, is much less than before. The CRPF DG argued, “Maoist resistance in Chhattisgarh has also weakened due to loss of territory, cut off of money and arms supply. Counter-attacks have also decreased. That is why not even a paramilitary jawan has lost his life in Maoist attacks in that state this year.”
According to CRPF sources, the use of drones has started in Bastar, Dandakaranya of Chhattisgarh, and Gadchirauli area of Maharashtra to understand the movement of Maoists. As a result, information about the movements of Maoists is available in advance. So the damage is also reduced.
Claim of paramilitary
The paramilitary claimed that Maoist attacks have reduced significantly in the last four years. While there were 833 Maoist attacks in 2018, the number till last June was 295. IPS officer Kuldeep claimed that after questioning the captured Maoists, no connection with any foreign militant group against India was found.