By IANS,
New Delhi : The gunning down of 16 villagers in a remote Bihar village by Maoist guerrillas at a time when the government is thinking of pumping in more paramilitary forces in their largest offensive against the leftist rebels has forced a rethink in strategy.
“Targeted operations against them (Maoists) may prove cost effective and reap corresponding gains rather than spreading the forces on the ground without knowing their proper base,” said a senior official, involved in the organisation of the grand offensive.
There are plans to involve more than 30,000 federal paramilitary forces in the campaign to root out the leftist rebels and in the past few weeks there have been a series of meetings with paramilitary chiefs and home ministry officials.
Over the last few months, the rebels have mounted daring attacks and the operation in Amausi village in Khagaria district, about 200 km north of Patna was equally brutal. Villagers, including five children, were killed after their hands and legs were tied.
Just before this incident, armed Maoists swamped a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) party office in Midnapore in West Bengal in September, killing 15 people, most of whom were believed to be party workers.
No security personnel could reach the area despite the gunbattle raging for several hours in the heart of Lalgarh, an area that was for long out of bounds for the police.
Given that the left extremists enjoy many advantages like vast and inaccessible terrain which is difficult to penetrate, let alone sanitise, the government is actively considering the force levels that need to be pumped and how they need to be sent in to secure strongholds.
“The wide dispersal area of the extremists and in places that are contiguous makes our job difficult. Therefore, we will be fine-tuning our strategy,” said an official.
Action against the rebels will be led by central paramilitary forces alongside the local police, with the army and air force on standby should the situation turn difficult.
Intelligence sources pointed out that left wing extremists are controlled by less than 20 top leaders and nearly 30 commanders of its armed cadre. Estimates are that there no more than 12,000 odd armed cadres spread across the affected states who are trying to enlist supporters and tribals in the movement.
Maoists are believed to pose a substantial threat in 170 of India’s 600-odd districts stretching from Andhra Pradesh in the south into the eastern states of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.