Bhopal: The reports that Naxals have employed a new guerrilla warfare tactic of attacking security forces mounting on horses in difficult terrains in their areas of influence have been reinforced with the seizure of half-a-dozen such domestic animals in a Naxal camp busted by cops in Abujhmad area in Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border, police said on Monday.
The counterinsurgency forces of Gadchhiroli in Maharashtra raided a Naxal camp at a place in Abujhmad area, a hilly region extending from Bastar in Chhattisgarh to Gadchhiroli in Maharashtra, late on Saturday evening and seized six horses apparently kept ready to ensure that the Naxal leaders who had gathered there escaped smoothly in the event of being surrounded by security forces, a senior police officer posted in Bastar division told this newspaper.
The Gadchhiroli police raided the Naxal camp acting on a tip off on presence of Naxal leaders Mallojula Venugopal aka Bhupati and Kadari Satyanarayan Reddy aka Kosa in the camp, the police officer posted in south Bastar district of Narayanpur, part of which falls under Abujhmad area, said.
These horses were being used by senior members of outlawed CPI (Maoist) in the hilly areas of Abujhmad, the police officer said.
Earlier, two jawans of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) reported for the first time on use of horses by Maoists to attack security forces in hilly and difficult terrains following an encounter between the rebels and troopers at Chareli under Mirtur police station in south Bastar district of Bijapur on March 3 this year.
The two jawans, Buddharam and Gabbaram, reported that the insurgents were seen opening fire on a search party of security personnel, mounting on horses.
