‘Year’s biggest anti-Maoist operation’ underway on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, top commanders are target

“Operation Karreguttalu” was launched from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district to the Karregutta Hills in Mulugu district across the border in Telangana after security agencies received specific inputs that top Maoist leaders and commanders, including Hidma Madvi, were spotted in the area.

“Before launching this operation, a meeting was held of all the senior officers of CRPF, Telangana and Chhattisgarh Police, during which they prepared their strategy. The operation is led by the 210th battalion of CRPF’s CoBRA units and has teams from the Chhattisgarh Police, its special task force (STF), District Reserve Guard, some regular CRPF units as well as Telangana Police,” a source said.

Another officer said the CRPF Director General G P Singh was asked to be present in Raipur and Jagdalpur to monitor the operation.

An officer said this is the biggest operation launched by security forces in or around Chhattisgarh this year and that currently, around 7,000 security personnel are involved in this operation.

“About four choppers, two drone squadrons comprising 20 big and small UAVs in each, along with satellite imagery and maps provided by the NTRO, have been deployed to track Hidma,” the officer said.

On the significance of the operation, a senior official said, “It is crucial because it is a battle to finish off the military strength of the CPI (Maoists) by targeting Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) as well as the Maoists’ thinktank in the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee and Telangan State Committee.”

The official said that while three bodies were recovered in the search operation on Thursday, “many more might have been killed or seriously injured”. He also said that no security forces personnel were injured.

Chhattisgarh Police said in a statement that the three dead Maoists were from Battalion 1 of the PLGA, “the most dangerous armed unit of the CPI (Maoist).”

Sources said security forces have surrounded PLGA Battalion 1 and members of the Telangana State Committee (TSC) and Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee.

Another source said the operation will continue for several days.

Describing the encounter as a decisive operation, Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, said: “So far, three bodies have been recovered from the forest area. Search operations are going on. All three Maoists are women. We have seized weapons, explosives and Maoist material from the spot.”