Operation Sankalp continues in secrecy on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border

Hyderabad: The extensive operation to eliminate the revolutionaries belonging to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border areas continued for the 19th day on Friday, May 9.

There have been speculations and selective information being shared by the government regarding the number of casualties and their identities resulting from the ‘Operation Sankalp,’ a joint operation of various wings of the central and Chhattisgarh state security forces.

The operation is being carried out in Karregutta mountains, which have been the chosen area by the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) battalion 1 of the Maoists, due to the geographical advantage it would provide to the outlaws as a safe shelter.

As per reports, thousands of central police forces were deployed to encircle the Karregutta mountains, which are difficult to scale, largely because of the vast network of caves and tunnels in those mountains, which have helped the guerrillas to thrive there for decades.

Operation Sankalp was launched with tens of thousands of security personnel, who started combing the area, encircling it from all the sides.

Though the higher-ups in the central forces claimed that the greyhounds and other armed police of Telangana were not manning the border areas as expected during the operation, an incident on Thursday morning claims otherwise.

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According to Telangana director general of police Dr Jitender, around 6 am on Thursday, a police patrol and search operation was underway in the Nugur forest area near Pedda Gutta, located about 4 km north-east of Penugolu village in Mulugu district, under the limits of Vajeedu police station.

During the operation, a group of about 35 to 40 extremists, including women, who were armed with deadly weapons and lying in ambush, triggered landmines from a distance. This was immediately followed by heavy gunfire targeting the patrol team.

He stated that the firing by the Maoists continued indiscriminately with an intention to kill the police party, and when the police retaliated, the Maoists stopped firing and ran away.

Vadla Sridhar, N Pavan Kalyan and T Sandeep, the commandos of greyhounds were killed in the landmine blasts and indiscriminate firing. AAC Ch Ranadheer (RSI) of Greyhounds also sustained firearm injuries and was shifted to Hyderabad for treatment, where his condition was known to be stable.

Though Chhattisgarh home minister Vijay Sharma has stated that over 30 Maoists have been killed in the encounter between them and the security forces on Wednesday, except for 5 Maoists killed a few days before that, the details of the others were not revealed.

It is being speculated that Maoist party central committee member Chandranna, who hails from Telangana, could have been among those killed in the gunfight on Wednesday.

The security forces claim to have gained control of 70 percent of the Maoist stronghold of Karregutta mountains, as they have been scaling it from bottom up. They have also established a temporary base from the top through the use of helicopters, which have been entering and exiting the forest area,s changing their altitude every time, to avoid detection and being targeted by the Maoists.

The security forces had reportedly released a video of a cave which could house around a thousand people, where they had found the remnants of a Maoist hideout. There are several caves inside the Karregutta mountains, which have such networks that if one entered from one side, the exit could be on the other side of the mountain.

The Maoists reportedly stocked up with vitamin and protein injections, while tens of security personnel took ill due to heat stroke, being treated at various hospitals in the Mulugu district of Telangana and in Chhattisgarh.

As per reports, one of the reasons for the security forces to be deployed around Karregutta mountains was that the Maoist party had released a letter to the locals, informing them not to venture out towards Karregutta.

Whether it was a strategic move or something else will be known soon.

Meanwhile, the civil society and rights organisations have been demanding that the Centre initiate peace talks with the Maoists and announce a ceasefire from both sides.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister of state (MoS) for home affairs Bandi Sanjay has categorically stated that there will be no talks with the Maoists.

However, the civil society and rights organisations have been demanding the Centre and the state governments to hold peace talks with the Maoists.

The history of peace talks

The peace talks between the Maoists and the state governments have not been a new thing.

During the 2004 Assembly elections in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, the then chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had resolved to eliminate the Maoists onceand for all.

However, the leader of the opposition Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) had assured that the Congress would hold peace talks with the Maoists if it was voted to power in the Assembly elections.

After coming to power in May 2004, a ceasefire was declared in June. The peace talks were held between the Maoists and the state government in June for 5 days, at the Manjeera Guest house in Hyderabad.

“There were five main issues raised by the Maoists, which included land reforms, safeguarding of the democratic rights of its citizens to hold protests and meetings, and most importantly, the demand for statehood for Telangana,” recalledveditor of Veekshanam, N Venugopal, speaking with Siasat.com

“The talks went on so well that the Maoists came fully prepared with the extent of land in disputes, land that could be distributed to the landless, and other data. However, the revenue and other officials had no idea. It was well reported by the newspapers of the time,” he said.

“During their stay at the guest house, the Maoist leaders received more representations from various sections than the chief minister could in his darbar. The Maoists held separate meetings for various social sections every day and received their representations. This created an insecurity in the ruling establishment,” Venugopal recalled.

The then Congress government invited the Maoists for a second round of talks from November 16, 2005.

The aftermath of the first round of talks was gruesome, as Maoists were arrested, and most of them were eliminated from the Nallamala forests in AP and Telangana.

The Congress and BRS have both spelt their stand against the massacre of Adivasis and Maoists in the AP-Telangana border, appealing to the central government to hold peace talks with them. But the ground reality seems different.

Appropriation of ideology

While Operation Kagaar was launched in January 2024, BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) condemned it only during his public speech at the silver jubilee celebration of his party in Hanamkonda district recently.

Political analysts feel that his announcement was aimed at ideological appropriation of the masses in the undivided Warangal district, which once used to be the stronghold of the naxal movement in Telangana.

Chief minister A Revanth Reddy appeal to the Centre to hold peace-talks with the Maoists is also being seen as a lukewarm attempt without any backing from the Congress’ high command.

It can be recalled that on May 25, 2013, the entire top brass of the then Congress government in Chhattisgarh was wiped-out in a naxal ambush in Jhiram that had left 29 people dead. Those killed included Congress leaders Nandkumar Patel, Vidya Charan Shukla, Vijay Mudiyar, and Mahendra Karma, who started ‘Salwa Judum’ to eliminate the Maoists.

In this backdrop, it would be wishful thinking to expect any positive direction from the Congress high command on peace-talks.

However, observers feel that the sympathy wave created in support of the Maoists has been growing, which could be seen in the peace rallies, meetings and representations being given to the Centre by the civil society organisations and political leaders, urging ceasefire and peace-talks with the Maoists.

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