Chhattisgarh on high alert after Maoist violence
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COMMENTS 
The central Indian state of Chhattisgarh is on high alert in the wake of mass killings by Maoists in Dantewada district and a two-day bandh called by the ultras from Tuesday to protest on-going operations by the security forces in five states
A day after a deadly attack by Naxals in which civilians and special police officers travelling in a private bus were killed in a landmine blast, combing operations have been intensified in the Dantewada region of Chhattisgarh. Security forces were also placed on high alert in view of a bandh called by Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
The Centre has asked all five states to tighten security and take maximum precautions during the bandh. The railways have been advised to run trains at slow speeds in Maoist-affected areas to avoid possible sabotage of tracks and bridges, according to Union home ministry sources.
Meanwhile, local TV stations report that as many as 50 people including special police officers and civilians may have died in the attack by armed members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) who blew up a private bus using a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The blast occurred at around 4.30 pm on May 17, at Chingavaram on the Dantewada-Sukhma road, some 450 km south of Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur.
In Raipur, Inspector General R K Vij confirmed the death of 12 security personnel, but police sources at the spot said 35 bodies were recovered including many youth appearing for a constabulary exam. “Currently we are in the midst of a recruitment drive,” confirmed a police officer. “Many of those killed were returning to Sukhma after the exam.”
Search operations were suspended for the night and the senior police officer said: “As the exact number of passengers in the bus is not known, a final figure shall be provided after a daylight search.”
The bus was said to be carrying 50-60 people. Police sources say ultras fired on those escaping from the bus. Around 47 rifle cartridges were recovered from the spot indicating that the military arm of the left-wing extremists were involved in the attack and wanted to kill the surviving victims.
In the past week, the police have carried out extensive de-mining operations in the area. On May 14, IEDs weighing about 65 kg were defused on the Bhejji-Gorkha road, and another IED, weighing about 15 kg, near Chintalnar. On May 15, nine crude bombs were discovered in Kanker district. Officials stress their inability to declare any area totally mine-free.
“IEDs are like Maoist fast-food,” said a police officer. “The mines can be planted in as little as 15 minutes. An area can be completely de-mined, but Maoists could plant a bomb within half-an-hour.” Officials said the recent attacks were part of an annual Maoist tactical counter offensive campaign. “Every year we see a spike in Maoist violence in the prelude to the monsoon season (mid-June to Mid-August),” sources said.
In an IED explosion in Bijapur district on May 8, seven CRPF personnel were killed. On April 6, Maoists massacred 75 CRPF soldiers and one police head constable in an ambush. Maoists have also stepped up attacks against tribals and civilians who, they say, are assisting the police. On May 17, Maoists killed six tribals in Rajanandgaon for allegedly passing information on to the police.
Adivasi youth are a crucial cog in the State’s fight against Maoists as they know the terrain and are familiar with Maoist methods. Besides recruiting tribals into the regular force, the police have also stepped up efforts to recruit Special Police Officers (SPOs) to serve as guides in jungle combing operations. SPOs are mostly local people recruited to fight the Maoists; they have emerged as the biggest threat to them.
Police recruitment in Chhattisgarh has gathered momentum as the shortfall is affecting the operations of paramilitary forces. The Maoists had earlier warned private vehicles against accommodating security forces. After Monday’s incident, panic-stricken private bus operators in the area refused to take their vehicles out onto the roads.
Strongly condemning the attack, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Centre would have to re-look at its strategy to deal with left-wing extremists. The Union home ministry has called an emergency meeting in New Delhi to review the situation.
Thousands of people have died in the Maoists’ decades-long fight against the State. The violent rebellion began in 1967 in the West Bengal village of Naxalbari and spread over the next couple of decades to rural areas of central and eastern India.
Chhattisgarh has seen several recent attacks, and Dantewada is one of the areas hardest hit by the insurgency. The Maoists, also known as Naxalites, say they are fighting for the rights of tribals and other rural poor who have been neglected by the Indian governments for decades.
The Maoist insurgency has been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the country’s biggest internal security threat. Last October, the government announced a “massive anti-Maoist offensive” and deployed 50,000 troops in several affected states, including Chhattisgarh.
Source: Press Trust of India, May 18, 2010
The Hindu, May 18, 2010
http://news.bbc.co.uk, May 2010