Maoists have suffered major setbacks this year with over 150 deaths reported in Chhattisgarh alone amid the upscaled counter-offensive operations launched by security forces in rebel strongholds across the country.

Sources in the security agencies said Maoist deaths (182) so far this year are the highest since 2009 when 154 ultras were killed. At the latest count, 153 Maoist cadres have been killed in Chhattisgarh — the state worst affected by Left-wing extremism —
since January.

The special anti-Maoist drive was launched late last year and sources in the Union home ministry attributed the success to better coordination between central paramilitary forces and local police units.

A security official attached to the Union home ministry said better intelligence-gathering mechanisms should also be attributed to the success of operations.
Earlier, the Centre had expressed its displeasure over the poor intelligence gathering from the ground in the Maoist hotbeds of Chhattisgarh which took a toll on paramilitary jawans in multiple surprise attacks by Naxalites.

Seven districts of Chhattisgarh — Bastar, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Sukma, Dantewada and Kondagaon — are among the worst affected by Left-wing extremism. Bastar is currently the axis of the security offensive against
the insurgents.

“Naxalism can be countered only through development and the Centre is pushing several infrastructure projects like laying down roads and bridges and rail links and upgrading education and health facilities. Banks and post offices are also coming up,” the official said, adding the main focus right now is to reassert the establishment of civil administration in Maoist-dominated areas.

Citing an Intelligence Bureau report, he said the ultras still hold complete control of the thickly forested Abujhmad area in Chhattisgarh. They are known to have several active camps in the jungles where they indoctrinate and train recruits. In the absence of any administration and basic infrastructure in the area, it has become an uphill task for the security forces to even make inroads as the rebels have blown up roads and bridges, planted a large number of landmines and booby-trapped many entry points.

Sources said unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used for reconnaissance and recording real-time images of the so-called “liberated zones” in Chhattisgarh. In the past the UAVs have been used to launch offensive operations against the ultras and also to keep an eye on security forces conducting operations in the rebel strongholds.

The UAVs were first introduced in Chhattisgarh to get an eye in the sky following the Dantewada massacre in 2010. The NTRO’s operations from the ground are conducted by Indian Air Force personnel. The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), set up on the recommendation of the Kargil Review Committee as a nodal agency for gathering technical intelligence along the lines of the US National Security Agency, reports to the national security adviser.

Sources in the security establishment said Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand together accounted for over 70 per cent of Maoist violence and 75 per cent of the killings over the past few years. Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra reported 13 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.