C’garh: Counterinsurgency strategy set for revamp post-general elections, campaign to free Maoist stronghold Abujhmad to be intensified

Raipur: The counterinsurgency strategy in the Leftwing extremism-hit Bastar in Chhattisgarh may be completely revamped in the coming days to intensify campaigns by the security forces to push Maoists off their strongholds, particularly Abujhmad.

This was disclosed to the newspaper by a senior police officer, dealing with counterinsurgency strategy for Bastar.

Security brass is mulling strengthening counterinsurgency forces in Bastar further with deployment of additional Central Para Military Forces in the core areas of Maoists, the police officer said, unwilling to be quoted.

“We have a plan to move forward aggressively in the Maoists’ core areas particularly in Abujhmad by setting up new forward operating bases (FOBs) to free the region of Naxal hold”, he said.

The 4,000 sq km-Abujhmad, loosely translated as ‘incomprehensible land’, nestles between south Bastar in Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and is known in the local parlance as ‘Naxal kingdom’.

Abujhmad is the only area in India that has remained un-surveyed so far.

With counterinsurgency strategy now focusing on Abujhmad, security brass is planning to hand over the FOBs, set up two-three years back, to Chhattisgarh police by upgrading them as police posts, from the Central Para Military Forces.

The Central forces, relieved from charges of these FOBs, will be deployed in making further inroads into the Maoists’ core areas by setting up new FOBs, the police officer said.

Besides, more Central forces, currently engaged in holding the general elections, will be available for counterinsurgency operations after the polls.

“Our prime focus is to wrest control of Abujhmad of Maoists”, he added.

A FOB caters to security of the area up to a distance of five km and keeps a vigil on movement of Maoists in the area by setting up mobile towers and creating employment opportunities for the local tribals by undertaking infrastructure development, Dr Girish Kant Pandey, Prof Defence Studies in government PG college of Science, Raipur, has said.

The establishment of FOBs facilitates anti-Naxal operations in the core area of Maoists by providing logistic support to the forces as well as surrender and arrests of Maoists in the area, Dr Pandey, who has done PhD on Leftwing extremism in Bastar, added.