A least eight policemen and a driver were killed in a detonated Road side bomb planted by the Maoist rebels on Monday in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. The blast, which engulfed their vehicle, created an opening that a crater could hardly be created on the road, pictures in the media depict.
A top state police official, Vivekanand Sinha, who oversees its anti Maoist operations also admitted that there were casualties, and described the incident as: “A vehicle strike on a landmine.” This attack came after a fight on Saturday in the region in which four rebels and a police officer were killed.
The Maoist insurgency or Naxalite movement has been threatening central India for more than thirty years and has led to more than 10,000 deaths. The rebels who reportedly subscribe to the ideological influence of the Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, avow to be fighting for the oppressed farmer and labourer whose land the mining companies are appropriating.
Nevertheless, the conflict still goes on despite the government upping its efforts in the last few years. Till 2024 calendar year 287 rebels were reported killed, 837 rebels were reported to have surrendered while nearly 1000 rebels were reported arrested. Interior Minister Amit Shah told the rebels in September to lay down their arms and surrender or face an “all-out” operation, vowing to end the insurgency by 2026.
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A Maoist movement that once spanned the so-called “Red Corridor” has been greatly diminished through military force and expanded governmental attention to district development projects. From the peak of the rebel’s influence in the early 2000s, the area they cover has severely declined.
The choate actions directed against the insurgency are road construction, schools, and employment schemes to reduce the rebels’ pull . But the case like the recent one of Bijapur blast shows that there is still a long way to establishing security there.
The above attack again emphasises the fact that the Naxalite movement is still a significant menace, and the need for security and development nexuses on going in those affected states.
(Input from Agencies)
