Pre-monsoon maoist moves on forces radar

NEW DELHI: Even as the Naxalites have launched a three-month-long tactical counter-offensive across the affected states ahead of monsoon, the intelligence agencies have begun encashing on the wider intelligence generated by increased movement of the Maoist cadres during this period to bust their hideouts and find their operational commanders.

The tactical counter-offensive is part of the Naxalites’ annual strategy to step up attacks on security forces and infrastructure such as railway tracks, communication and transmission towers to showcase their military might before the onset of monsoon forces them to retreat and put operations on hold.

“This year too, the tactical counter-offensive campaign started on April 15 and will continue over the next three months,” Chhattisgarh director general of police Vishwa Ranjan told ET. He said Naxalites would intensify attacks on public property to underline their nuisance value.

However, he added, the counter-Naxal forces were prepared to take on the challenge thrown up by the Maoists. The forces plan to use the increased movement of Maoists during the offensive to generate pinpointed intelligence on their anticipated hideouts. This would be immediately followed up by laying ambushes along the pre-judged routes and halts of the Naxalites.

“Our operations are going on across various Naxal-hit districts, be it Bijapur, Narayanpur, Dantewada & Kanker. We will try to correctly anticipate the movements of Naxalites and intercept them along the route,” said Mr Vishwa Ranjan.
Meanwhile, the CPI(Maoist) sub-committee on mass organisations has asked cadres to put pressure on the government to roll back its “offensive” against the Maoists.

Intelligence sources reveal militarisation of the CPI(Maoist)’s armed wing is continuing unabated. As compared to the guerrilla warfare, the mainstay of anti-Naxal operations thus far that required only 15-20 cadres for an attack, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), which will soon become the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is now a more organised and militarised force comprising companies on the lines of the Army. Each company has 60-70 cadres and is allotted four LMGs each, besides automatic weapons and sniper rifles.

These companies are trained on military lines and well-versed in the field manoeuvres adopted by conventional armies. Attacks are usually launched by two companies (around 140 Maoists), who converge on the attack site often at a short notice.

This is part of the mobile warfare that has now become the backbone of Naxalite operations. Under mobile warfare, the stress is not on trying to hold bases, but on hitting at distant places. The movements of the cadres are flexible, usually around 400 people collect at a target, hit it and then disperse.

Incidentally, the next stage of the militarisation would be positional warfare when Naxalites will concentrate on holding positions and confronting the state forces like a conventional army.