Raipur: Security forces have targeted top-level Maoist leaders operating in the Leftwing insurgency-hit Bastar in Chhattisgarh to achieve the goal of ending Naxalism by March, 2026, a senior police officer said on Monday.
“A hit-list of top-level Maoist leaders has been prepared to neutralize them either through surrender, arrest or elimination”, sources in the state intelligence bureau (SIB) told this newspaper.
The counterinsurgency strategy focused on neutralization of top-level cadres of Maoists instead of the lower-rung leaders and foot soldiers, the SIB sources disclosed.
“Neutralisation of top-level leaders of the Maoist cadres makes the Naxal movement leaderless in the Maoist strongholds leading to erosion of Maoist bases”, the police officer said.
No wonder, six special zonal committee (SZC) members who were also members of various state committees of the Maoists, 16 divisional committee (DVC) members, 32 area committee members and over 60 people’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) cadres were among the ultras slain in the last 13 months.
While a SZC member carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh, a DVC member and an area committee member carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh and Rs five lakh respectively.
In January this year, of the 14 Maoists killed in separate encounters in Bastar, eight were DVC members.
“Our target is the think tank of Maoists since they misguide the local people (to join the Naxal movement). Our objective is to remove the top-level leaders from the Maoist movement to ensure erosion of Maoist bases”, Bastar range inspector general of police P Sunderraj told this newspaper.
He said that the strategy of targeting the top-level Maoist leaders has started paying dividends with the lower-rung leaders deployed in the outer layer of their security appearing to be losing motivation and commitment to their job.
In recent encounters, it was noticed that the lower-rung leaders had fled the spot causing big holes in the security of the top-level leaders, SIB sources said.
“These incidents have created trust deficit between the top-level leaders and the lower-rung leaders and the trust-deficit appears to be growing”, Mr Sunderraj said.
The neutralization of top-level leaders has also emboldened the local tribals in the core areas of Maoists not to extend support to the Maoists, leading to erosion of their bases, he added.
This was the reason why the Maoists have suffered serious setbacks in the encounter with security forces in Bastar in recent times, the police officer said.
