Fleeing a crackdown by security forces, Maoists leave behind unexploded IEDs
Chhattisgarh's anti-Maoist campaign has led to the recovery of 155 IEDs in early 2024, surpassing previous years, as extremists flee and plant explosives.
While the aggressive campaign to weed out Maoists from the jungles of Chhattisgarh has helped security forces gain control of Maoist bastions, the development has come at the cost of the extremists planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) across the region before fleeing.
Data accessed by HT showed that in the first three months of the year, forces have recovered 155 IEDs — a figure significantly higher than 38 and 35 in the same period in 2023 and 2024.
“Last year, the highest number of IEDs at 260 were recovered throughout the year. The number this year is already higher than the recovery in 2021 and 2022. We expect the number to reach a record high this year,” an official aware of the matter said requesting anonymity.
With teams of state police and central paramilitary forces conducting extensive operations in Maoist strongholds, in line with the government’s proposed deadline to end left wing extremism (LWE) in the country by March 31, 2026, the recovery of IEDs weighing anywhere between 1 kg to 45 kg has become a major challenge.
“The number in 2023 and 2024 crossed over 200 because the aggressive push against Naxals had started in late 2023 after the change in government at the state. The armed cadres are fragmented and there is friction among them. They are fleeing but also planting the IEDs before leaving their core areas,” the official cited above said.
Over all the forces in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 recovered 163, 128, 242 and 260 IEDs.
On Friday, Chhattisgarh police recovered almost 50kg explosives during a raid at a Maoist camp in the jungles of Kasod-Kumuradi village within the Narayanpur district.
“This was just raw explosives, which when mixed in small parts creates dozens of high intensity IED. The two IEDs attacks in which nine DRG jawans were killed this year and another in which 10 were killed last year, easily measured 40-50 kg. Fortunately, this year, the forces have been able to detect almost all IEDs, barring one in which nine DRG jawans were killed this year,” a second officer said, requesting anonymity.
The officer said that the retrieved IEDs are planted on that the forces take during anti-Maoist operations.
“But with extensive demining exercises and locals no longer helping Naxals groups with intelligence about the routes that security forces are taking, they are getting fewer success with IEDs attacks than they used to in the past. Currently, the weapons that they have are no match for what the security forces possess so they depend on planting IEDs and pressure cooker bombs to inflict casualties,” the second officer said.
Earlier on April 14, forces in Bijapur recovered five IEDs, of which three measured 2kg each while the other two measured 5kgs. On March 28, a CRPF team recovered a high intensity IED weighing almost 45kg planted on a road in Palnar, Bijapur.
So far this year, at least 140 Maoists were killed in gunfights with security forces. The number was 219 last year, far higher than 22 in 2023 and 30 in 2022.
