NAGPUR: The Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh, which also houses a tiger reserve, was a safe hideout for Maoists till Sunday, when 31 guerrillas were shot dead in one of the bloodiest encounters with security forces till date.
The Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), which is tottering in its headquarters at Abujmarh, was compelled to concede a vital stretch of land in the sprawling park.
Buoyed by a 2,800 sqkm security vacuum in restricted areas of Indravati National Park, Maoists had consolidated their hold in the forested region, used it as a PLGA base and rehabilitation centre for decades. Maoists’ formations of three states — Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Telangana — used the sprawling forests as their second alternative to Abujmarh and senior cadres, including members of the Central Committee and politburo, were known to be holed up in the park.
Now, this Red citadel too has fallen after Abujmarh, where cadre-training infrastructure, gun-making factories, arsenal stock, and other wings, including medical, technical, propaganda, and press are now in a shambles.
After the Sunday encounter, Maharashtra has stepped up drone surveillance along its borders, adjacent to the national park. Gadchiroli police have put three border posts — Damrancha, Dechlipetha, and Manne Rajaram — on high alert to ensure PLGA guerrillas don’t sneak into Maharashtra to avoid advancing security forces from Chhattisgarh.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who lauded efforts of Chhattisgarh police, has set a deadline of March 26 to wipe out Maoism from Chhattisgarh.
After the fall of Abujmarh, Maoists depended on their hideouts in the park area for resting and regrouping. Sources stated Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli-based formations like the Aheri local organisational squad (LoS) would cross the Indravati river to enter the national park zone to dodge C-60 commandos during area dominations and searches.
As per official sources, Gadchiroli police kept a close watch on the Indravati park encounter as several local formations were likely to be present and chances were high that some Maharashtra-based cadres were hit.
There was also speculation about the Telangana state committee secretary of Maoists being present with key politburo members during the encounter. Sources stated Gadchiroli police have intensified area domination in key stretches along the state border to ensure on-the-run Maoists are sandwiched between the commandos of two states and eliminated.
