Aiming to disrupt the forthcoming general elections, the Naxals plan extensive mining in their strongholds to target political leaders and security forces as a bounce-back strategy after their failure to execute poll-boycott plans in Chhattisgarh last November, according to an alert sounded by the Union Home Ministry.
The advisory documents purported revelations by a leader of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee indicating that the outfit plans to mine areas in the Narayanpatna, Bandhugaon and Laxmipur areas of Odisha.
A two-pronged strategy devised by the Jharkhand Regional Committee of the CPI (Maoist) has come to light following the seizure of a document by security forces in the Jamui area of Bihar on February 2. Titled “Chunao Bahishkar (Boycott Elections)”, the paper purportedly outlines the plan to disrupt the Lok Sabha polls in certain districts of Bihar and Jharkhand through boycott campaigns coupled with attacks targeting security forces and political leaders, especially those belonging to the Congress, BJP and the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha.
The seized document reveals that the Naxal cadres have been instructed to arrange explosives to carry out strikes which may be in the form of targeting vehicles used in election campaigns, abducting or eliminating political leaders and ambushing security personnel.
The outfit, at the political level, has formed a “Vote Bahishkar Committee” through which it aims to organise processions and cultural programmes to instigate inhabitants in the far-flung areas by raking up issues such as displacement, inflation and unemployment, besides the camps set up for the armed forces.
Intelligence agencies have already recorded instances of threats being issued to villagers in the South Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, whereas similar campaigns have been launched in the other naxal strongholds, including those located in Andhra Pradesh.
Besides, alleged naxal leader Gudsa Usendi – who surrendered before the Andhra Police on January 7 – has also purportedly disclosed that plans are afoot to take advantage of the rather thin and diffused deployment of security personnel during the elections.
Based on these inputs, the Union Home Ministry on Monday issued an advisory to the governments in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh to take all necessary measures, including identification of vulnerable pockets, area domination exercises and anti-naxal operations, in view of the upcoming general elections.
Incidentally, hours after the advisory was issued, seven suspected Naxal cadres were killed in a police encounter at Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. “All the weapons seized from them, including an AK-47 assault rifle, belong to security forces,” said an official. This year so far, the forces have eliminated nearly two dozen alleged Naxals.
