The remote FOB is surrounded by hills that conceal suspected Maoist training camps, weapons dumps, and ration depots from the south and west Bastar divisions. A senior officer described the area as the operational center for the 1st battalion of armed Maoist cadres.
Central Reserve Police Force.
New Delhi: The CRPF has established a new forward operating base, 'Pujari Kanker', in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar region — a strong Maoist corridor. The base was set up on February 13 by the 196th and 205th CoBRA battalions, with support from other CRPF units active in the area.
The remote FOB is surrounded by hills that conceal suspected Maoist training camps, weapons dumps, and ration depots from the south and west Bastar divisions. A senior officer described the area as the operational center for the 1st battalion of armed Maoist cadres.
During the establishment of the base, a CoBRA commando was injured by an improvised explosive device. This new FOB is the 13th in a series of bases being set up as part of the Union government’s plan to eradicate Left Wing Extremism by March 2026. It will serve as a strategic outpost ahead of the annual tactical counter-offensive campaign by the Maoists, typically launched in summer.
The CRPF has already begun community engagement in the region, conducting a medical camp that treated 70 local residents. Over the past three to four years, the force has opened more than 40 FOBs in Chhattisgarh, particularly in the Bastar region, in an effort to curb Maoist influence in remote areas.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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