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the strategy, tactical and intelligence ditions the CAPF deployed in the Mao- elements involved in existing counter- Security Forces killed by Maoists in last ten years ists-affected areas often find it difficult insurgency operations (COIN). Con- to establish effective communication Bull by the Horns States 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021* Total sidering the identical pattern in which with the local people. To decisively fight the Maoists, needs a culture the security forces have been trapped Andhra 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 Moreover, the presence of the CAPF and killed by the Maoists, be it in the Pradesh personnel in the Maoist affected areas of accountability at all levels case of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra in Bihar 10 25 7 3 15 0 3 1 0 0 64 which are mostly inhabited by the tribal 2019, incidents in the Bijapur-Sukma and other marginalised communities is fected states yielded in bringing down region in in 2019-20, or Chhattisgarh 30 36 64 41 35 59 57 19 37 37 415 seen with suspicion and fear. In this pro- Maoist-led violence to an all-time low. 2017 Sukma killings of 25 CRPF jawans, Jharkhand 25 26 14 5 8 4 10 13 2 4 111 cess, they have not been able to penetrate Practically, the ultras real presence has there are serious questions over the the Maoist ranks and files for credible and Maharashtra 13 7 11 4 1 3 2 15 3 0 59 been reduced to few tri-junction districts preparedness, tactical capabilities, actionable intelligence. The surrendered in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha. and intelligence-gathering aspects in- Odisha 15 7 1 3 3 9 1 1 2 0 42 Maoists are often seen to be close to the No wonder, India’s ministry of home af- volved in COIN. Telangana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 rather than the CAPFs. The fairs (MHA) removed 44 districts from A close glance at operational aspects lack of credible or complete information West Bengal 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Naxal affected list, while the ‘worst-af- of COIN makes it amply clear that the key on the movement and planning of the fected category’ was brought down to reason behind high casualties among se- Data till April 17, 2021, Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) Maoists has also contributed to the loss of Niranjan Sahoo and Anshuman Behera 30 in 2019. As per well-known ACLED curity forces is due to flagrant violation lives among the security forces. data, the spread of Covid-19 pandemic of standard operating procedure (SOP). waiting for that moment of lapse or com- by them in encounter with the Maoists In a serious setback to brought down Maoist related incidents In a combat situation involving a dread- placency of the forces. The Maoist, not- from time to time. Particularly the CRPF, Culture of Accountability ongoing anti-Maoist operations, 22 se- in 2020 even further than 2019 (30 per ed insurgent group, SOP is what min- withstanding, their weakening strength which is heavily deployed to fight the To conclude, even after more than a de- curity personnel were killed and 31 sus- cent less). The country-wide lockdown imises errors and casualties. In COIN, continue to maintain a tactical edge Maoists has been a victim of several is- cade of hard combat against the dread- tained serious injuries in encounter with proved a massive blow for the insurgent high casualty can considerably demor- over the security forces and launch time sues relating to recruitment, promotion, ed Maoist organisation, both state and the dreaded Maoists along Sukma-Bi- organisations as it disrupted their criti- alise the forces. to time surprise attacks in their zones, and leadership. Most of the personnel in central security forces particularly in japur border in Chhattisgarh. Given cal supplies and movements. Two factors that are responsible for while the forces seem to repeat the same the CRPF recruited as constables take Chhattisgarh, the key theatre of current the large number of casualties involved For all practical purposes, the Maoist most frequent violation of SOP are mistake at every interval. years to be promoted. It is a reality that anti-Maoist operations continue to suf- including the elite CoBRA commandos organisation’s presence is now confined over-confidence and complacency. The most of them retire at a low rank. fer the same fate. When Maoist did a of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), to Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region having over-confidence of the security forces Issues with Central Moreover, the leadership of the force major ambush in Dantewada killing as questions about intelligence failures, an area of 40,000 square kilometre. This against the Maoists mostly stems from Paramilitary has always been an officer drawn from many as 76 CRPF soldiers in 2010 and security forces committing tactical mis- is a stupendous achievement for securi- the drastic reduction of the Maoist-relat- A major challenge that the CAPF de- the (IPS) and the MHA constituted a taskforce headed takes and not following up standard op- ty forces considering a decade back the ed violent incidents. While the security ployed in the Maoist affected areas faces whose tenure as the head of the force is by E.N. Ramamohan, a decorated for- erating procedures have been raised by Indian state was staring at an insurgen- forces deserve credit in bringing down is weak or ineffective coordination with for a limited period. It is safe to mention mer chief of the security experts and analysts. cy that was spreading like rapid fire and the violence, often taking the Maoists for the state police. The crux of the lack of that such a practice has led to a huge gap to investigate the reasons for such high Moreover, this was not a surprise am- had presence over one-third of territo- granted have proved too costly for them. coordination lies with the fact that while between the leadership and the person- casualties among security forces, many bush by the Maoists on security forces. ries. Thus, it is imperative to go to the Moreover, one can also observe the com- the state police forces are legally em- nel in the CRPF. Deprived of the privileg- believed that this would be the last ma- Reportedly, this was a major combing board room and seriously assess what placent attitude of the security forces powered to maintain the law-and-order es of promotion and recognition to their jor incident. operation jointly conducted by CoBRA went wrong with the combing opera- against the Maoists. issues, the CAPF carries the burden of services, the CRPF personnel have raised However, the country, especially Ch- unit of CRPF, Special Task Force, Dis- tions in Bijapur. In fighting a protracted battle against containing the Maoists. It is important these issues with successive govern- hattisgarh, has been experiencing several trict Reserve Guard (DRG) and District the ultras for more than one and half to mention that the dominant narrative ments only to get lip service of assurance incidents of major Maoist attacks involv- Force of Chhattisgarh Police to capture No Lessons Learned decades with huge success the security understands the Maoist violence as a of reformation. ing high casualties among security forc- the most wanted Maoist No.1 area com- As said earlier, such daring attack forces are seen to have brought fatigue law-and-order issue. This is an important factor contrib- es. The answers for such tragic episodes mander Madvi Hidma. Even before the by the Maoist organisation at a time and complacency. While the security Paradoxically, the roles of the state uting to the low morale of the CRPF are not difficult to find. As demonstrat- security team issued any clarification, when the extremist organisation is at forces are engaged in mounting oper- police forces and that of the CAPF have personnel fighting the Maoist ultras. ed earlier, neither there is any systemic the chief minister of Chhattisgarh Bh- its weakest raises hard questions over ations against the Maoists, the latter is been asymmetric. Over the years the se- Adding to the existing difficulties, the learning evident in frequent breaches in upesh Baghel was quick to reject any curity forces belonging to the CAPF, es- CRPF always needs to take the local SOP, nor any institutional accountability chances of intelligence failure which Maoist Related Fatalities pecially in Chhattisgarh, have lost more Superintendent of Police (SP) for any fixed for such major incidents. would have been the major factor lead- lives compared to the state police force operation against the Maoists. Such Other than 2010 Dantewada incident, ing to the loss of lives of security person- (See Table). The lack of coordination legalities dilute the independence of a at no other time has the head of CRPF or nel. This is the last thing one expects in a among these forces reflects badly on the professional force like CRPF. In addi- other security organisations including combat situation in any major counter- critical issues of sharing information tion to this, the IPS leadership of the state police have faced probe or account- insurgency (COIN). about the Maoists, joint operations, and CRPF is hardly held accountable for ability questions. No politician (read The irony is that an attack of this scale helping the CAPF getting used to the lo- the loss of lives that the latter suffers minister) has ever paid a price for serious and intensity could take place at a time cal language and other details. from. These organisational and struc- state failures in combating the ultras. In when the Indian state and its security However, this critical issue of lack of tural complications in CRPF are vital short, to win the Maoists, India urgent- forces are seen to have acquired bet- coordination between the CAPF and factors that have direct implications ly needs a culture of accountability, be it ter combat skills and experience and the state police is hardly highlighted or on the low morale of the security forces police, intelligence, security bureaucracy are believed to be in dominant position discussed in the open forum or any task in the combat zones. and the politician.; compared to the insurgent organisation. force that has been constituted to exam- Another less debated issue with regard Fact of the matter is that the year 2019 ine and revisit the ongoing security oper- to COIN is poor intelligence gathering (Niranjan Sahoo is Senior Fellow, Ob- (see below graph) saw one of lowest ever ations against Maoists. and sharing often leading to the tacti- server Research Foundation, New Delhi casualties among armed forces in the de- Some of the important problems at the cal failures during combing operations and Anshuman Behera is an Associate cades. A coordinated and well-calibrated organisational and structural levels of against the Maoists. This has been the Professor in Conflict Resolution and counterinsurgency operation from the respective CAPF are also no less respon- trend in the last 10 years or so. Not well- Peace Research Program at NIAS, Ben- federal government and the Naxal-af- Source: Authors own estimation from multiple sources sible for the major casualties suffered versed with the local language and tra- galuru)

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