Amidst successful targeted operations that have pushed the outlawed Maoist outfit on back foot in Maoist affected state of Chhattisgarh, the on ground situation for the civilians of the remote regions of Narayanpur district has turned out to be worse in recent times.
The district, which encompasses the infamous Maad or Abujhmaad region, a citadel for outlaws for decades, has recently witnessed a series of targeted killings of political workers by Maoist, who have now forced scores of them to take shelter in the district headquarters.
According to a report floating in the media, around 50 village heads of the insurgency-hit Narayanpur district are forced to live under a government compound in the district headquarter for months.
Most of these political representatives, who hails from Chotedongar area, a hotbed of insurgency since long are stationed here to evade possible targeted killing by the Maoists, who have issued decrees labelling them as “agents of the iron ore mines” being operated in the area.
The village heads, who looks reluctant while expressing the sorry state of affairs in the Chotedongar area, a small locality around 43 kilometers away from the district headquarters, allege that they can’t return to their villages as they live in a constant fear of being attacked by the Maoist who have declared them traitors.
A number of them are farmers by profession, though the looming threat of attack by the extremist have kept them away from their fields and, more significantly, from their families.
Most of the representative stationed here are residing under the constant watch of the security forces since December last year, after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was brutally hacked to death by the Maoist when the latter was returning after offering prayers at a local temple in the Chotedongar area on December 9.
Violence against political representatives
The deceased BJP worker Komal Manjhi was one among those on the hit-list of the Mao’s men, as were those who are currently taking shelter in the government premises amidst the looming threat of meeting the same fate like Manjhi.
However, Manjhi was not the only one who was killed for prioritising aligning with the democratic way over the other preached by the ultras in the heart of the tribal dominated Maad region and there were others too who met the same fate for following suit.
Earlier, in separate incidents of similar nature, the Maoists also killed the then BJP vice-president of the Narayanpur district, Ratan Dubey in November last year. Dubey was attacked and killed by a Small Action Team (SAT) of the Maoist when the former was out on campaigning for state assembly elections.
Dubey was killed months after the Maoist in a separate incident also killed, Saagar Sahu, another notable leader of the saffron party from the region.
In addition to these killings, the extremists have time and again also unfurled banners in the area threatening a number of village heads/political representative for dire consequences.
In the banners erected, the Maoists have accused the village heads for aligning with the company engaged in mining projects triggering their exodus from villages to a safer location.
Anti-development approach
It is noteworthy that the Maoist have been a staunch opponents of the development projects in the regions under their reach, as they believe that such projects would not only weaken their hold on the residents as they would be drawn towards employment opportunities but it could also pave way for better connectivity, which will make life easier for the security forces while launching counter-insurgency operations.
This long held policy of the outlaws has led them to carry out several attacks aimed at stopping any such development projects in the regions dominated by them.
In a similar incident earlier, the Maoists wreaked havoc by setting ablaze as many as four trucks engaged in the transportation of iron ore mines from Aamdai Ghati mines in March this year.
The torching incident of March occurred months after the Maoists triggered a strong Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast leading to the death of two workers associated with the Aamdai mines on November 24.
A week later, the Eastern Bastar Division of the outlawed CPI Maoist, in a press release threatened to continuously target the location until work is not stopped in the mine.
The outlaws in the press release, while issuing a warning for the workers had said that one should avoid working in the Aamdai mines to protect himself as it is suicidal to work there. They had also claimed that hundreds of IEDs are planted near the location of the mine which will keep exploding until mining is stopped.
It is worth mentioning here that the obstruction caused by the Maoist in Aamdai iron ore mines is not an exception and the extremists have been continuously targeting other such mining projects in areas under their reach in separate localities as well. This include targeting the mining projects in the Gadchiroli districts where the Maoist have wreaked havoc at a number of times.
