At final salute ceremony of 10 slain personnel, CM Baghel vows to intensify fight against Naxals

The final salute ceremony was held at the Karli police lines where Baghel along with other officials carried the coffin of one of the jawans on his shoulders and placed it in an ambulance to be taken to his residence. The family members, including the wives and over a dozen children, of the deceased jawans were also present during the ceremony.

Baghel had arrived in a helicopter with Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu. Senior police officials DGP Ashok Juneja, Additional DG for anti-Naxal operations Vivekanand and Inspector General for Bastar Range Sundarraj P were present along with other senior officials.

After the ceremony, Baghel told reporters, “Our men died fighting. Their sacrifice will not go in vain and we will now intensify our fight against them (Naxals).”

The chief minister said the Maoists are frustrated as the police are entering deep inside the jungles of South Bastar like Jagargunda and Dornapal leaving them no place to hide. “These places (Jagargunda and Dornapal in Sukma) were seen as the headquarters of their leader Hidma. The national park area here is under our control. Now, they have no safe places left to go and are surrounded by all sides. They have no areas to hide in Dantewada, Sukma and Bijapur. Whenever we get information on Naxal’s presence, we have acted on it,” said Baghel.

“The IED blast took place after two years. Last time, too, our jawans died fighting … but the Naxals had suffered more damage. This time it was a matter of opportunity,” he said.

The chief minister pointed out the government is constructing small roads, police camps, Public Distribution System (PDS), schools, and Anganwadis. “So, the trust of people has increased towards government and Naxals are getting pushed to a corner,” he said.

When asked about more police camps, Baghel said, “In these four years, we have established 75 police camps in core areas. We have demanded more (resources) from the Central Government and if we get it we will put up more camps”.

Responding to a question that whenever the government says Naxalism is ending such incidents take place and if they are making any mistake, Baghel said, “Our jawans have died. Nobody can deny it. But there is a lot of difference between then and now. First, our camps used to be attacked and jawans defended themselves and now the approach is different. Now, we engage with them, and in the battle, Naxals have too lost their lives.”

When asked whether Wednesday’s incident was a show of power by the Naxals ahead of elections, Baghel said, “This attack is not done from an election point of view. This is their Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) period.”

Following the incident, questions regarding the standard operating procedure (SOP), like conducting road clearance operations, are being raised. And when asked whether the Road Opening Party followed the procedure before the troops moved out of the area, Baghel said, “It was a pukka sadak (concrete or bitumen road). The ideal way for them was to come walking but when the road is good they took the risk and they came (in vehicles) and this incident took place. But last time they came on a motorbike and a blast took place and three jawans died.”

Replying to a question on holding peace talks with Naxals, Baghel said, “First let them say they believe in the Indian Constitution and let them give up their weapons.”