In Maoist-hit Bastar, an upsurge in aggression from both sides

At 5.15 pm on March 25, Krishna Pasiet was thinking about closing up his small salon in Chhattisgarh’s Basaguda village, meandering to the end of a calm workday. Suddenly, all around him, he heard voices of men and women in panic, sounds not altogether unfamiliar to Bastar.