After a spot of virtually 20 years, the motion of the banned Left Wing Extremist (LWE) outfit, CPI (Maoist), is at its lowest ebb within the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) area this yr.
Once referred to as the Maoist hotbed after Chhattisgarh, the LWE motion within the area is now a shadow of the previous.
Revival efforts
But the lull within the hotspot is to not the liking of the Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist). Sources say that the Central Committee members usually are not pleased with the waning of the motion within the AOB, and have been asking the leaders of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) to re-enter the realm and regain its misplaced floor not less than in among the areas.
The yr 2023 has been dangerous for the Maoists within the area. From an preliminary power of about 500 cadres and 1,500 militia members, dominating not less than 18 of the 22 mandals in Alluri Sitharama Raju district, the power has dropped to under 20 cadres and about 100 militia members.
More importantly, virtually all the highest surviving leaders, together with the chief of AOBSZC, Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, have moved to safer locations in Chhattisgarh. They are mentioned to be taking shelter within the south Bastar space of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh.
Apart from just a few surrenders and arrest of a few small-time leaders or members, there’s hardly any Maoist exercise within the area this yr.
The solely notable improvement was the unearthing of some primitive booby traps in Chintoor mandal of ASR district by the CRPF and the combing operations of the elite anti-Nnaxal power of Andhra Pradesh.
“There is practically no Maoist movement in the AOB region, especially in the once hotbeds such as Munchingput, Pedabayalu, Chintapalli, G.K. Veedhi and G. Madugula mandals. The only place where they are trying to make some inroads is in the Chintoor and Rampachodavaram mandals,” says Superintendent of Police, ASR district, Tuhin Sinha.
Chintoor and Rampachodavaram, which have been part of East Godavari earlier than the reorganisation of districts, border Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, and the Maoists nonetheless maintain appreciable presence in that State.
AOBSZC ultimatum
As per sources, the AOBSZC management has been given an ultimatum to infiltrate and regain among the misplaced floor. It is known that leaders equivalent to Uday, Aruna, Suresh, and Jagan, alias Kakuri Pandana, have been instructed to determine their contacts and transfer into the AOB area earlier than the following basic elections in 2024.
Moreover, the management of the South Bastar Divisional Committee and the native guerrilla squad members, the place the AOB leaders are reportedly holed up with about 40-odd cadres, are discovering it troublesome to feed and preserve them with the restricted sources that they’ve at their disposal.
They are attempting to maneuver in by way of the tri-junction space of Kalimela (Odisha), Chintoor (ASR district) and Sukma (Chhattisgarh), however are discovering it troublesome as a result of presence of the elite forces from the three States equivalent to Greyhounds, CRPF and SOG (Special Operation Group of Odisha).
Ramaguda encounter
The presence of the Maoists began to say no with the encounter at Ramaguda in AOB in October 2016. The Greyhounds had practically worn out the whole management of the then dominant Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakhapatnam Border Special Zonal Committee (MKVBSZC) management, which included leaders equivalent to Bakuri Venkata Ramana, alias Ganesh, Kistayya, alias Daya, and Prithviraj, alias Munna (son of late Maoist Central Committee member Ramakrishna, alias RK). About 31 Maoists have been killed in a single single encounter.
Later, in June 2021, six prime leaders equivalent to Ashok and Ranadev have been gunned down by the Greyhounds at Teegalametta in Koyyuru mandal of AOB.
The encounter was adopted by a gentle stream of give up of prime tribal leaders equivalent to Sudheer and arrest of Kora Nageswara Rao. Unable to bear the warmth, leaders equivalent to Uday, Aruna and Jagan had fled to Chhattisgarh, leaving a void within the area for the final two years.
This has virtually completed the Militia community, because the militia members thrive solely when the armed rebels are round them.
‘Ideology turns irrelevant’
“Now, they have lost the militia network. The ideological movement has become irrelevant for the tribals, as development is reaching them in the form of welfare schemes and jobs. Today, we have laid over 1000-km of road and over 200 cell towers have come up. The Recognition of Forest Rights (RoFR) has given the tribal people the right to own land, and that has been a game-changer,” says Andhra Pradesh DGP Ok.V. Rajendranath Reddy.
There isn’t any approach the Maoists can rake up the motion once more and the bottom is not fertile. Moreover, space domination by the safety forces has turn into a key hindrance for his or her comeback.
But the safety forces are preserving their fingers crossed, as they (Maoist) could attempt to make their presence felt utilizing their motion squads.
Source: www.thehindu.com
