CRPF DG: Operation Blackforest marks 'beginning of end of Naxalism'

BIJAPUR: As CRPF DG G P Singh puts it succinctly, the 21-day “largest-ever” anti-Naxal operation in the Karregattalu Hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border was “the beginning of the end of Left-Wing extremism”.

Ahead of the March 31, 2026 deadline set by home minister Amit Shah to eliminate Naxalism from the country, security forces have their task cut out — keep up the pressure on Maoists by continuing to overwhelm them with sustained operations across the regions where they still operate, albeit in segregated groups with an eroded arsenal; corner them so that they are left with just two options: surrender or get neutralised; and block all avenues for the Maoists to regroup and re-enter areas now free from their hold, while also offering the locals benefits of govt’s flagship schemes in the secure bubble created by CRPF ’s forward operating bases there.

Operation Blackforest — which showcased exemplary coordination among central and state security forces, culminating in the elimination of 31 Maoists and segregating their strongest formations into disjointed, dislocated units — shall serve as a template for more intel-based actions in the days and months to come, as per sources. The follow-up operations will possibly be on a smaller scale, since the Maoists are now hiding in smaller groups, scattered across pockets of Indravati national park area, west Bastar, south Bastar, Telangana and a small portion of few other states.

“Anti-Naxal operations are currently under way in Chhattisgarh , Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Maharashtra as part of a multi-front offensive to wipe out the vestiges of Maoist setups there. Already, 5-6 appeals have been made by CPI(Maoist) requesting a ceasefire and dialogue, indicating their desperation,” a senior Chhattisgarh Police official told TOI.

A senior central govt functionary, however, said stopping operations may not be an option while the top CPI(Maoist) leadership is still in hiding. “Let them come out and surrender their arms. We cannot talk to a ‘faceless’ group,” said the officer.

Surrenders have already peaked this year, with 718 Maoists having joined the mainstream in the first four months as against 928 throughout 2024. “As the pressure grows with more anti-Naxal operations, more surrenders will follow; there is already growing disenchantment within as the top Maoist leadership remains silent and safely ensconced even as the senior Maoists and cadres are getting killed,” said the functionary.

Sources said that though only 31 bodies of Maoists killed in Operation Blackforest were recovered, the forces’ own estimate points to 40-45 fatalities. “At least two dead whose bodies could not be retrieved, were very senior Maoist cadres,” said a senior CRPF officer involved in the operation.

The officer told TOI that intel-based, anti-Maoist operations will continue even during the monsoon, as the forces are now placed on either side of the Indravati river. “Earlier, a swollen Indravati river and rainwater channels during monsoon would cut off access to the interior Maoist dens; now, the forces can embark on operations from the nearest FOB,” he said.

With good technical intelligence, the Maoist hideouts are no longer ‘dark spots’. The forces are confident that the smaller and scattered groups of Maoists/PLGA will be located and neutralised. “The morale of the forces is high and Operation Blackforest has conditioned us physically and mentally to corner Maoists in their core area,” said a second CRPF officer.

“It is possible that Left-Wing extremism will be eliminated a few months earlier than the March 2026 deadline,” the officer said but warned that the Maoists may resort to desperate attacks like killing civilians on the pretext of being “informers” and targeting security forces with IEDs improvised to inflict maximum casualty.