RAIPUR: Security forces in Dantewada have dismantled three memorials of the outlawed CPI-Maoist (rebels cite them as Shaheed Smarak) in a day during the search operation.
The Maoists build memorials as a tribute to their dead senior leaders and cadres to highlight their contribution to the banned outfit among the local masses in areas having their presence.
“First time a team of Dantewada district reserve guards (DRG) traced three 'smarak', each separated by a distance of 3-4 kilometre. They were dismantled. These memorials were on the name of a hardcore Maoist leader Vinod Hemla who carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head and Gundadhur (carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh)”, said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada SP.
The forces were out on operation on a tip-off about the movement of Maoists along the Dantewada-Sukma border in south Bastar. During their search operation, they found the three memorials near Gonderas village of Dantewada.
Both Vinod and Gundadhur were senior leaders and were involved in carrying out several attacks in the south Bastar region including the Jheeram massacre and the ambush of BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi. Vinod succumbed to illness this year while Gundadhur was killed in an encounter with the Sukma police in 2019, the police said.
In Dantewada, during the last year and a half, as many as eight Maoist memorials have been demolished by the security forces.