Spy proves to be their golden eye

Hyderabad, March 20: South Bastar division’s Jagargunda-Baswaguda area committee of the CPI (Maoist), which has a strength of one company (about 100 armed Naxalites), had been holding the plenary between Kachala and Paliguda in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh, for about a week.

But the South Bastar division, led by Arjun, a Maoist leader belonging to Andhra Pradesh, had no idea whatsoever that police from across the border were busy tracking down its every movement for almost four months.

When the elite Greyhounds personnel swooped on the plenary in a pre-dawn raid, the Maoists had little time to resist. Of the 30-odd Naxalites, who were camping there, 17 died and the rest managed to flee.

It was an operation executed to perfection. What went into its planning? According to highly placed sources, office of the Officer on Special Duty at Kothagudem managed to gain the confidence of an informant, who is from across the border, about four months ago.

With the help of local police, the OSD office kept in touch with the informant, who fed it with some information or the other.

However, several ‘alerts’ from him were ignored as the Naxalites were always either too deep in Chhattisgarh forests or inhospitable terrain like hills.

Then came the vital lead about 10 days ago when the informant “smelled something peculiar.” Militants were picking up ration from village sandies and some others were clearing bushes at the base of a hillock abutting the forest. There was also some sort of “high-alert” in Maoist-affected villages.

Three, four days later came fool-proof information. The plenary was going to be held exactly between Kacharla and Paliguda. From here started the operational part. First, the Greyhounds personnel had to penetrate 40 kilometres into Chhattisgarh from Charla.

The Andhra Pradesh Police sounded their Chhattisgarh counterparts and took them into confidence. A joint operation was planned and forces moved into the forests a couple of days ago.

The area being a stronghold of Maoists, the police teams had to move cautiously as any leak could jeopardise the entire operation, the sources told this website's newspaper.

It appears the Maoists were a bit casual for they did not anticipate an onslaught of this severity from the Chhattisgarh Police.

The least they could have expected is the arrival of Greyhounds personnel who have mastered the art of jungle warfare. Their AK 47s, SLRs and country-made weapons could not match the fire power of well-trained police personnel.

In no time, the Maoists suffered one of the biggest setbacks in their decade-long history in Chhattisgarh. The Greyhounds, who took part in the operation, have returned to their base leaving a heap of dead bodies - 17 Naxalites in all including six women - behind.

Not only have the Andhra Pradesh police dealt a severe blow to the morale of the Maoists in Chhattisgarh but have also reportedly laid their hands on a treasure trove of information.

It appears the war has reached a crucial stage.