CRPF sets up three new forward bases in Chhattisgarh’s hardcore Naxal areas

PTI, Nov 24, 2024, 2:17 PM IST

Raipur: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has opened three new forward bases in the “hardcore” Maoist violence-affected districts of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region to provide security forces with “strategic” hubs for launching intensified anti-Naxal operations.

The forward operating bases (FOB) have come up in Tumpalpad and Rayagudem in Sukma district and Kondapalli in the adjoining Bijapur district. These bases have been made operational over the last week or so, officials told PTI.

The central force is working on a strategy to make inroads into “hardcore” Naxalite areas of the state where the final battle against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is concentrated.

The FOBs act as launching pads for all security forces, including the CRPF and state police units, to launch specific and intelligence-based anti-Naxal operations in core areas, they said.

All these three villages in the two districts of Bastar region have served as the logistical centres for the Maoists for decades. Kondapalli, as per LWE theatre experts, used to be an important recruitment centre for the “most vital” PLGA battalion no. 1 of the Maoists.

The village located on the banks of river Talperu also served as a training area for the Maoists, Similarly, Tumalpad, on the banks of the Chintavagu river, served as a halt area and corridor for the Naxals, the experts said.

The Tumpalpad FOB was operationalised by the 74th battalion of the force while the Kondapalli base has been created by the 170th CRPF unit. The specialised jungle warfare unit of the CRPF, Command Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), provided active security to the teams which created these FOBs, the officials aid.

These FOBs will act as physical barriers and curb the free movement of Naxals in these areas called as ‘no go’ territories for government authorities and security forces till now, they said.

The CRPF has created more than 40 such FOBs in Chhattisgarh over the last three-four years as the toughest anti-Naxal operations combat remains concentrated in Bastar that borders Odisha and Telangana.

Other central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the BSF and the ITBP and state police too have created such FOBs in the state.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has recently declared that the aim of his government is to end the LWE menace from the country by March, 2026 as he asked security forces to undertake a “strong and ruthless” plan of action to reach this goal.