NEW DELHI: With security forces and enforcement agencies making gradual progress against left-wing extremists across states, the Naxal leadership has been facing a severe weapon crunch, resorting to the use of outdated and age-old firearms, according to sources in intelligence agencies.
Amid this shortage, left-wing extremists have altered their strategy, focusing on looting arms and ammunition from security forces.
They have been targeting trucks transporting weaponry in remote areas affected by the Naxal menace, the sources said.
A senior intelligence official stated, “Several factors have led to this crunch. The security forces have disrupted their arms supply chain. Investigative agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) have choked their funding, making it difficult for them to purchase weapons.”
He added, “Even their usual routes for acquiring weapons, such as the Nepal border with India, are no longer viable.”
The official noted that cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) are attempting to launch attacks on security forces’ vehicles carrying weapons to replenish their stock of arms.
A senior officer from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is largely deployed in counter-Naxal operations, confirmed that recent recoveries of weapons from extremists revealed a shift in their capabilities.
Even senior Maoist leaders, including former members of the PLGA 1 Battalion – one of the deadliest Naxal groups – are now using rudimentary, country-made firearms.
Given the latest intelligence inputs, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has instructed forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations to exercise greater vigilance during the transportation of weaponry, said another senior official.
In a recent encounter along the Sukma-Bijapur border, three Naxals were killed, and several weapons were recovered. Among the deceased was Korsa Mahesh, a former member of the PLGA 1 Battalion. “The weapons recovered from him were rudimentary,” the official added.
In another encounter in October last year, security forces eliminated 31 armed extremists. However, only one AK-47 rifle was recovered, officials said.
A senior CRPF official observed that the area under Naxal influence has significantly reduced since 2017-18. “The extremists are now operating with limited arms and ammunition. In several instances, it has been found that in a group of 15-30 extremists, only one or two carry AK-series weapons,” the official noted.
