Op Abujhmaad: In a first, CRPF enters land of Maoists, myths

Ashutosh Bhardwaj : Kurusnar, Kundla, Abujhmaad, Sun Apr 08 2012, 01:17 hrs

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/op-abujhmaad-in-a-first-crpf-enters-land-of-maoists-myths/933941/0

It's a 6,000-sq km area straddling Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra that is off administrative limits. Its formidable reputation lies in both myth — some say “animals with 12 heads” live in it — as well as reality — former Union Home Secretary G K Pillai called it a “liberated zone”. Last month, for the first time since it emerged as a Maoist haven in the late 1980s, security forces made their way into Abujhmaad, returning a week later with two injuries, three arrests and a big psychological victory in the battle against the CPI (Maoists).

More than a hunt to track Maoists, the operation, as a CRPF officer said, was an exploration of the unknown. “Some say animals with 12 heads are found in Abujhmaad, some narrate other mythical stories. Then there is the Maoist presence. It was primarily an attempt to understand and discover the region,” says CRPF IG (Operations), Raipur, Pankaj Kumar Singh.

There were several surprises in store. Villages were found several kilometres off their coordinates on century-old ASI maps, some villages mentioned in government records did not exist on the ground, spots that looked like walled fortresses on Google map were dense growth of bamboos, and structures that security forces thought were Maoist bunkers were actually scaffoldings to trap animals. The area had defied and deceived advanced imageries.

“It was a gamble in blind. We had studied satellite maps, but were prepared to come across an entirely different scenario,” says S S Gill, Commandant of 206 CoBRA battalion.

Gill began with a team from Dhondaraj, Gadchiroli, on March 10 and crossed through Maad area of Chhattisgarh. Two other CoBRA teams entered Maad through Kurusnar in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh on March 13, led by 201 CoBRA Battalion Commandant Dilip Ambesh and 202 CoBRA Battalion Commandant Ravindra.

Around 4,600 sq km of Abujhmaad is spread across 237 villages in Orchha block of Narainpur alone. It also spreads to Bijapaur and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.

There is no police post beyond Kurusnar as the narrow roads disappear into thick forests and hills. The area has minimal administrative presence, and police have to depend solely on informers. Maad in Orchha is an unmapped and largely unseen territory, bigger than Goa, without phone signals, electricity, no revenue village, no primary health centre and just one post-office in Kokameta.

The CRPF planned its movement based on Google maps, old ASI surveys and some other available software. On the ground, the situation was very different. “Quite often a village shown at a spot in our maps was actually found at quite a distance,” says Narainpur SP Mayank Srivastava, a part of the team.

While Singh and Bastar IG TJ Longkumer conceived and designed the plan, Srivastava provided intelligence inputs. Around 800 men from all CoBRA battalions were called in, besides 150 men Chhattisgarh police force and 100 from CRPF regular battalions.

They went into the forests armed with their best weapons, such as Swedish Carl Gustav rocket launchers and C-90 rifles, and satellite phones. From Singh’s office in Raipur, the operation was monitored 24X7. Eight flat plateau regions were identified where helicopters could land and the Air Force kept on high alert — just in case.

Gill’s team exchanged fire with Maoists at eight places. Officials dismissed these as “minor” incidents as the Maoists fired from a distance, never came near and disappeared into the hills quickly. While Gill’s team claimed to have busted a major arms factory at Hikonar, the other two combed Toke and Markur villages, where Maoists had a significant presence.

On March 16, the three teams converged at Jatwar, where they had an hour-long exchange of fire with Maoists. They then began their return journey to Kurusnar where they were greeted by CRPF DG Vijay Kumar on March 18. While Gill’s team crossed over 100 km of forest on foot, the other two travelled nearly 40 km.

In between they nabbed around 10 suspects and brought them to Narainpur. Three of them were later arrested while the others were released.

Shaken by the troops’ venture into Abujhmaad, the CPI (Maoists) have alleged rights violations. Keye, secretary of CPI (Maoists) Maad-North Bastar Joint Divisional Committee, claimed the forces looted many houses in Jatwar, Toke, Hikonar, Godelmarka, Kodenar and several other villages, burnt down homes, and killed Dunga, a tribal and resident of Toke.

The Sunday Express has a copy of his written statement and the photographs he sent to substantiate his allegations. The statement adds that the rebels attacked the forces, and injured two CoBRA men.

But Narainpur SP Mayank Srivastava has refuted these claims. “There wasn’t a single instance of police excess,” he says.

The CRPF has, however, confirmed that two CoBRA constables, Hari Prakash and Brijendra Kumar, were injured during the exchange of fire at Jatwar. CRPF sources also admitted that a few homes were burnt down in Jatwar.

The CPRF has termed the operation as a big learning experience. “It was a great education, going into the area where no security forces have been. We wanted to explore and break the myth of Maad,” says Singh, adding that what they learnt would help them in future operations.

At the same time, he is cautious. As dark settles inside the forest and the shadows grow bigger, Singh won’t call it a finished task. “It’s just 15 per cent of the region we covered,” he says.