Commandos plan final assault on Maoist top guns in Abujmarh

Time of India

4 hours ago

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Nagpur: Maharashtra's elite C-60 commandos are gearing up for a final assault on Abujmarh, tottering headquarters of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army, buoyed by CM Devendra Fadnavis's historic visit to the area on Friday.
In Odisha, police have intensified searches in Charmal forests of Sambalpur after reports about the influx of Maoists pushed out by security forces' offensives in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
The spotlight, though, remains on Abujmarh, where Operation Clean-up aims to decimate the last vestiges of the military wing of the five-decade old Maoist movement in Maharashtra's eastern flank, say top sources in the state's anti-Naxalite apparatus.
A top guerrilla on the radar is central committee member Mallojula Venugopal Reddy, alias Bhupathi or Sonu. Intelligence inputs suggested he was holed up deep inside the booby-trapped forested hills of Abujmarh and spotted a few km off Kawande -- the hamlet CM Fadnavis visited two days ago.
Although Bhupathi had appealed to the Centre for a ceasefire and despite his wife Tarakka surrendering a year ago, the veteran may opt to fight till his last breath.
Apart from the uncertain terrain, the battle-hardened C60 commandos are also concerned about rains which would make the hills unapproachable with numerous overflowing rivulets and nullahs.
Other Maoists on the hit list are Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy alias Kosa, Madvi Hidma, Devuji alias Devji and CPI (Maoist) general secretary Ganapathy. They are frequently shifting bases in Abujmarh and in the three-state junction of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.
Another top leader, Prabhakar, head of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, is also a challenge for the forces.
Kosa, a veteran revolutionary, and Bhupathi are considered the ideological fountainhead and brother of the late Maoist leader Mallojula Koteswara Rao (Kishenji). Intelligence reports suggest the duo is desperately changing locations to evade capture, moving through the treacherous terrain of Abujmarh, a region known for its inaccessibility and strategic importance to the Maoists.
Sources claimed the youngest among the last few politburo members, Hidma, heading "Battalion One" in Chhattisgarh, is likely to have suffered injuries in gun battles with forces last month and has gone underground. "All the top Telugu leaders of the Central Committee and Politburo are 60 years and above, which has made them unsuitable for this challenge," said a top cop.
Pressure on top cadres intensified after 12 senior Maoists surrendered to Gadchiroli police on Friday, a significant setback for the outfit.
The surrendered cadres, reportedly from the Maad area, are believed to have provided critical intelligence about the movements of Kosa and Bhupathi.
In Odisha's Sambalpur, intelligence inputs suggested suspicious movement of some rebels from Chhattisgarh, prompting the searches. "It is not fully confirmed if the rebels dispersed and are trying to shift their bases. Considering their dwindling numbers in Odisha, it is not likely that they will mount offensive action against forces," said a senior police officer.
Earlier, DGP Y B Khurania said Odisha police are working hard to nip Left-wing extremism in the bud, reiterating the police effort to meet the Centre's target of eliminating LWE violence by March 2026.