Ten jawans of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), returning in a van from a security operation, and their driver were killed when Maoists set off an IED in south Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, over 350 km from state capital Raipur, on Wednesday afternoon. This is the biggest attack carried out by Maoists on the security forces in the state in the last two years – in 2021, 22 security personnel were killed in an ambush along the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts. Chhattisgarh | 10 DRG jawans and one civilian driver lost their lives in an IED attack by Naxals in Dantewada, yesterday Visuals from the site of the attack pic.twitter.com/DRtYbBZy1i — ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) April 27, 2023 The incident took place between 1 pm and 1.30 pm Wednesday on the Aranpur road, around 50 km from the district headquarters. The slain security personnel were from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a state force tasked to carry out anti-Maoist operations. Following the attack, Inspector General of Police for Bastar range, Sundarraj P, said, “Acting on information of Maoist presence in the area, an operation was conducted by the Deputy Inspector General. As they were returning to the Dantewada headquarters, the team was targeted by the Maoists. Reinforcements of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and DRG have been sent to the spot. Search operations are underway and senior officers are there. The process of removing the bodies of the slain personnel is underway.” VIDEO | Sundarraj Pattilingam, IGP Bastar Range of Chhattisgarh, gives details of Maoist attack in Dantewada that claimed lives of 10 jawans and a civilian today. pic.twitter.com/RpJgHmKpPw — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 26, 2023 Sources said that around 200 security personnel had set out from Dantewada district headquarters Tuesday night after getting information about the presence of Maoists in the area’s Darbha division. On Wednesday morning, there was an exchange of fire between the patrolling team and Maoists near Nahadi village, around 7 km from Aranpur, following which two suspected Maoists suffered gunshot wounds. The two were rounded up and were being brought back to the district headquarters in a convoy that the ill-fated vehicle was part of.Senior state police officers told The Indian Express that 40-50 kg of explosives were used in the attack. Prima facie, it appears the explosives were planted five-six feet below the road, making it difficult to spot. A command IED appears to have been used, which means a Maoist cadre was keeping an eye on the road from a distance, and triggered the blast when the vehicle approached. Officers said the security personnel had used a private vehicle because a police vehicle could have attracted the attention of Maoists, but the attackers still managed to identify the vehicle. The jawans killed have been identified as Joga Sothi, Munnaram Kadti, Santosh Tamo, Dulgo Mandavi, Lakhmu Markam, Joga Kawasi, Hariram Mandavi, Rajuram Kartam, Jairam Podiyam and Jagdish Kawasi. The vehicle driver has been identified as Dhaniram Yadav. The vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed in the explosion. Among the 10 jawans who lost their lives, five – of the rank of constable and head constable – were surrendered Maoists who had joined the state force after laying down arms. The DRG, a special force of the Chhattisgarh police, was formed in 2008 to carry out anti-Maoist operations in the state. It has inducted mostly local tribals in the force, especially from the Bastar region, and has performed several successful anti-Maoist operations there. “It is a measure of their activity that in all recent attacks, it is the DRG personnel who have been targeted by the Maoists,” a Chhattisgarh police officer said. According to a Central intelligence officer, protocol dictates that security forces move forward during an operation only after receiving specific intelligence inputs and sanitisation of the route. Security forces sometimes take help of the Road Opening Party (ROP) to make sure that there is no threat to the convoy. “The DRG had left their headquarters after they received information of the Maoist presence in Aranpur. Initial probe has revealed that Maoist were tracking their vehicle movement,” the officer said, suggesting that prima facie, it appears standard operating procedures were not followed. Speaking to reporters, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said “this fight is in its last stage” and “Naxals won’t be spared”. In a tweet, Baghel wrote that the 11 men “had arrived for anti-Naxal operation on the information of the presence of Maoist cadre under Aranpur police station area of Dantewada”. He called off his election campaign tour to Karnataka, and will visit Dantewada Thursday. दंतेवाड़ा के थाना अरनपुर क्षेत्र अंतर्गत माओवादी कैडर की उपस्थिति की सूचना पर नक्सल विरोधी अभियान के लिए पहुंचे डीआरजी बल पर आईईडी विस्फोट से हमारे 10 डीआरजी जवान एवं एक चालक के शहीद होने का समाचार बेहद दुखद है। हम सब प्रदेशवासी उन्हें अपनी श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हैं। उनके… — Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) April 26, 2023 Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Baghel and took stock of the situation, assuring the CM that the Centre would extend all possible help to the state government. He described the attack as “cowardly”. Anguished by the cowardly attack on the Chhattisgarh police at Dantewada. Have spoken to Chhattisgarh's Chief Minister and assured all possible assistance to the state government. My condolences to the bereaved family members of the martyred Jawans. — Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 26, 2023 In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote: “Strongly condemn the attack on the Chhattisgarh police in Dantewada. I pay my tributes to the brave personnel we lost in the attack. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. My condolences to the bereaved families.” Strongly condemn the attack on the Chhattisgarh police in Dantewada. I pay my tributes to the brave personnel we lost in the attack. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. My condolences to the bereaved families. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 26, 2023 Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted that “the fight against Naxalism in Chhattisgarh is in its last phase, our government will win in it”. छत्तीसगढ़ के दंतेवाड़ा में नक्सल विरोधी अभियान में,एक कायराना हमले में हमारे 10 DRG जवान एवं एक चालक की शहादत बेहद दुःखद है। वीरों को विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि।हम शोक संतप्त परिवारों के साथ हैं। छतीसगढ़ में नक्सलवाद के ख़िलाफ़ लड़ाई आख़िरी दौर में है,हमारी सरकार इसमें जीत हासिल करेगी। — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) April 26, 2023 The timing of the attack is in line with the Maoists’ annual strategy – the CPI (Maoist) conducts Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) between February and June, during which the focus of the military wing is to inflict casualties on security forces. The period is chosen because once the monsoon sets in July, conducting offensive operations in jungles becomes difficult. Almost all major attacks by Maoists on security forces, including the 2010 Chintalnar massacre where 76 CRPF personnel died, have happened during the TCOC. This year’s TCOC too was characterised by increasing IED attacks. Until April 15 this year, sources said that Maoists had launched 34 IED attacks in Bastar. The same figure for 2022 stood at 28 and for 2021 at 21.
