Naxals feel the heat as police continue the vigil

Recruitment of cadre becomes tough in changed circumstances even as return of greenery in forests gives them cover

The return of greenery provides cover to the Maoists in the forests of old Adilabad.

The cat and mouse game between the police and the band of 8 to 12 Maoists has continued for the past four months in former united Adilabad district; the former succeeding in thwarting any plans of the extremists in re-establishing themselves in these parts. Under the changed top leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), naxalite leaders are assumed to have been tasked to carry out recruitments in their former strongholds which can happen only if they regain the lost foothold.

According to sources, the pattern of Maoist movement since March this year is similar in all Telangana districts where extremism had flourished until 2005. One or two armed dalams are moving in the forest visiting former sympathisers, presumably in a bid to recruit cadres, a difficult task these days considering the drastically changed circumstances, the sources opined.

No sooner information of infiltration of extremists reached the police in late February or early March, anti-naxalite forces have been combing the forests of Kumram Bheem Asifabad and Adilabad districts. There were instances when a confrontation between the outlaws, led by an old hand Adilabad District committee secretary Mylarapu Adellu alias Bhaskar, and the security outfits looked imminent in the forests of Adilabad district which is part of Boath Assembly constituency.

Greenery an advantage

“Luck was on their side,” observed a police officer leading combing operations in forests encompassed by the core and buffer areas of Kawal Tiger Reserve. “But it will not last long,” he asserted as he spoke to The Hindu after returning from an operation in the forests.

The task of the police, nevertheless, has become difficult at present what with the returned greenery offering excellent cover to the Maoists in the forest. “It also makes area domination exercises fraught with danger,” another source added.

It is for the first time since extremism came under control that naxalites have come in the dry summer months. Normally, bands of Maoists cross over from Maharashtra in June with the return of greenery. They stay here till the forests begin to dry once again.

Sources say the early return was to reassert supremacy in the interior parts of the backward erstwhile district. “It could actually be an act of self-assurance with regard to the existence of the underground movement,” a police officer opined.