Security forces tasted major success after they arrested as many as eight lower-rung cadres of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) in separate operations launched in insurgency-hit Chhattisgarh on Friday, December 22. The development occurred amidst the nationwide shutdown call given by the Maoists which turned out to be ineffective, barring some core Maoist zones across states affected by the insurgency.
In the first incident, a joint team of security forces nabbed as many as six lower-rung cadres of the banned Maoist outfit during a combing operation launched under Kirandul police station limits of Dantewada on Friday, according to a few media reports.
According to the reports, a joint team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Guards (DRG) was out on a combing operation when they noticed a few suspects trying to run away near the Parlagatt village. The security personnel then chased and arrested all the accused.
In another operation launched by the security forces in Kanker, as many as two cadres of the banned Maoist outfit were also arrested on Friday. As per the details, a joint team of Border Security Force (BSF) and Bastar fighters, a unit of the state police, launched a counter-insurgency operation on Friday during which two Maoist cadres were nabbed. It’s been learned that both extremists were involved in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack and one of the nabbed accused was also carrying a bounty on his head.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sanku Katlani and Chanda Ram Uikey, both active cadres of the outlawed CPI Maoist. The accused were nabbed during an anti-naxal operation by the joint team and similar operations will continue to be launched, according to an official familiar with the development.
Maoist took out protest march in Sukma
In other news, the ultras took out a foot march in the remote region of Maoist-infested Sukma district on December 22. The march was organised in support of the Bharat Band and called by the extremists against the ongoing offensive campaign of the security forces against the extremists in Jharkhand.
In a viral video of the march, the extremists can be seen in large numbers sloganeering against the government. the march was organised under the banner of the Chetna Natya Mandali(CNM) , a cultural offshoot of the proscribed CPI Maoists.
It is to be noted that earlier, the Maoists wreaked havoc on a number of places in the regions still under their affect by torching vehicles, uprooting railway track and disrupting transportation by torching wood stocks on national highways on late Thursday evening. Further, members of the banned outfit also dropped pamphlets and erected banners at separate places appealing to make their nationwide shutdown call successful.
