‘Red Terror’ nearing its end, Naxals reduced to groups after battalions, CRPF will respond to sniper shots

CRPF Fighting Red Terror: All Out Operation To Combat Red Terror In Chhattisgar

Now instead of a company, Naxalites are shrinking to a small team. Most of the Naxalite teams also have snipers. To give a befitting reply to this strategy of Naxalites, CRPF soldiers are being provided with long-range sniper rifles on a large scale.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is ‘insistent’ that Naxalism should be completely eradicated from the country before March 2026. The country’s largest central paramilitary force ‘CRPF’ has taken up the task of fulfilling this insistence of the Home Minister. In Chhattisgarh, along with CRPF, the brave soldiers of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Cobra are contributing. With the cooperation of Cobra and CRPF, the security forces have opened 289 new camps in Naxal-affected areas of various states. Two security camps or ‘Forward Operating Bases’ are being established at a distance of just ten to fifteen kilometers. In this situation, the back of the Naxalites is breaking. Earlier, the Naxalites used to attack the security forces with the battalion. After that they got reduced to the company. Now instead of the company, the Naxalites are getting reduced to a small team. Most of the snipers are also in this team of Naxalites. To give a befitting reply to this strategy of the Naxalites, CRPF soldiers are being provided with long-range sniper rifles on a large scale. Thermal drones are also being purchased.

Sources say that CRPF will be provided with sniper rifles that can hit with accuracy up to a distance of six hundred meters. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that whatever equipment/resources are required by the soldiers for the complete elimination of Naxalites, they should be made available immediately. Along with this, sniper rifles can also be provided to the CRPF squad to fight terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, Naxalites used to attack in the number of a battalion in Maoist-affected areas. When the security forces attacked the Naxalites, they started shrinking to a company. The reason is that the security forces set up camps in the Naxalite stronghold in the dense forest. Naxalites were driven away from there.

Now the Naxalites are not able to gather in large groups. They have shrunk to just a small group or gang. In that too, Naxalites are taking help of sniper rifles. They are using new methods of IED explosions. For many years, Naxalites have been preparing indigenous propellers and mortars. Sniper rifles are being used by Naxalites at tri-junctions in states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. Inspector General of Police of Bastar Range Sundarraj P has said that Naxalites are facing a crisis of ammunition. New recruitment is not happening. In this situation, Naxalites are moving towards snipers and booby traps. They want to harm the security forces with less number and resources. Due to this, now CRPF and other security forces have prepared to give a befitting reply to Naxalites as per their strategy.

Apart from sniper rifles, vehicles with armored platforms have now been provided to the security forces. Earlier, security forces had anti-mine vehicles, but Naxalites used to blow them up by planting IEDs with heavy killing capacity under MPVs. Now the armoured vehicle can withstand the impact of a 100 kg IED explosion. A dozen security personnel ride in this vehicle. If a 50 kg IED is planted, then this vehicle can also withstand the impact of its explosion. If a bullet hits its tyre, then even after that the vehicle can run for forty kilometres. If there is a high capacity explosion, then this vehicle can be toppled, but there is still a hope of the soldiers surviving.

Now there is a plan to provide thermal drones to the security forces to target Naxalites in dense forests. Their trial has been done. Thermal cameras are called thermographic cameras or infrared cameras. These drones are used to see or detect the heat radiation coming out of any object. Thermal cameras work on the theory of infrared spectrum. Temperature variations can be noted through thermal cameras. No human can see this with his eyes. This drone can tell the presence of a person in fog, darkness, rain and storm. In such a situation, Naxalites hiding in the forests become the target of security forces.

There has been a progressive decline in the number of LWE affected districts. In view of the steadily improving situation, LWE affected districts have been reviewed thrice in the last six years, with the number declining from 126 to 90 districts in April 2018, to 70 in July 2021 and then to 38 in April 2024. LWE related violence has reduced by 73% in 2023 as compared to the high of 2010. Resultant deaths (civilians + security forces) have also reduced by 86% during the same period. In the current year (up to 15.11.2024), there has been a further reduction of 25% in incidents of LWE violence as compared to the corresponding period of 2023.

Rs 1180 crore was spent in the security expenditure scheme in Naxal-affected areas from 2004 to 2014, which the Modi government has increased almost 3 times to Rs 3,006 crore between 2014 and 2024. Rs 1055 crore was given in the assistance scheme to central agencies for managing LWE. Special central assistance is a new scheme under which the Modi government has spent Rs 3590 crore in the last 10 years. So far a total of Rs 14367 crore has been approved, out of which Rs 12000 crore has been spent.

66 fortified police stations were built in the 10 years between 2004 and 2014, while 544 have been built in the 10 years between 2014 and 2024. In the 10 years before 2014, 2900 km of road network was constructed, which has increased to 14,400 km in the last 10 years. 6000 mobile towers have been installed from 2014 to 2024. The work of converting 3551 of these towers to 4G has also been completed. Before 2014, only 38 Eklavya models were approved, now in the last 10 years, 216 schools have been approved. Out of these, 165 Eklavya model schools have come into existence.

In the 10 years between 2004 and 2014, there were 16463 incidents of violence, which have now come down to 7700 with a reduction of about 53%. Similarly, there has been a 70% reduction in the deaths of civilians and security forces. The 96 districts reporting violence have now come down to 16 with a reduction of 57 percent. The number of police stations reporting violence has also come down to 171 from 465, of which 50 are new police stations. More than 280 camps have been set up since 2019 to fill the security vacuum. 15 new joint task forces have been formed.