The police in Andhra Pradesh as well as Chhattisgarh had sufficient intelligence inputs on the Maoist mission in the Chintalnar forests almost three weeks in advance of the April 6 ambush. Koram Ramesh alias Singanna, commander of 8th company of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), arrested in Bhadrachalam forests on March 16, gave ample indications of the preparations going on for the big strike.
Singanna, who was also a member of the South Zonal Command and the south Bastar divisional committee of Dantewada district, was interrogated by top police officials of both States. He was apprehended along with his wife Madakam Aithe, a section commander; and Muchika Jogaiah, commander of military platoon of the party, and his wife Hassi in the Thatilanka reserve forest. The information they furnished could have served as a significant predictor of the Maoist mission, say police sources.
The Maoist leader had given a clear picture of the DKSZC plans to beat back the paramilitary forces making inroads into the Maoist strongholds as part of Operation Green Hunt. He disclosed the list of police stations under the DKSZC scanner, among them Chintalnar, Kistaram and Pamedu. The 8th company headed by Singanna and the 3rd company led by another important leader, Idima, had been concentrating on the pocket for quite some time.
The company led by Singanna had the forest pockets of Palachelima, Burugulanka, Singanamadugu, Tettemadugu and Karrigundam in its operational area. It has a strength of 80 and moves 20-30 km away from the Andhra Pradesh border.
Singanna was involved in killing of six security personnel in an attack on the CoBRA team that planned to raid a Maoist weapons manufacturing unit near Singanamadugu village in Dantewada district on September 19 last.
He was also involved in the firing on a helicopter in 2008 and killing of 10 jawans in an attack on Mizo forces in 2007.
A senior police officer said Tuesday's Chintalnar incident could not be looked upon as an ambush; it was more or less a raid on an unprepared side by the well prepared.
