RAIPUR: The first-ever decisive and strategic crackdown against the CPI (Maoist) – ‘Operation Black Forest’, launched on April 21 – has “stamped out the safe haven of senior Maoist leaders,” senior officials of the CRPF and Chhattisgarh police said, commending the operation as immensely successful.
Executed in Bijapur’s south-west forested area adjoining Telangana border, the operation involved thousands of security personnel for 21 days, during which the troops cautiously secured a substantial area of a lesser-known Karreguttalu forested hills surrounded by forests from the grip of left-wing extremists.
During the operation, as many as 31 Maoists were killed in separate encounters. 18 jawans sustained injuries mostly in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) pressure blasts and their conditions were stated to be out of danger. They were airlifted to Jagdalpur, Raipur and Delhi for immediate medical attention.
A sizeable Karreguttalu hilly expanse was believed to be a key shelter for senior Maoist leaders including top commanders of the outfit for years.
A joint team of security forces comprising personnel from different units of District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, CRPF and its elite unit CoBRA force were engaged in the anti-Maoist campaign that culminated on May 11.
CRPF DG G P Singh and Chhattisgarh police chief Arun Dev Gautam along with senior officials on Wednesday jointly briefed the media in Bijapur (south Bastar) on how the planned Operation Black Forest got executed and the successful outcome of the mission.