The situation in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam, particularly on the Andhra- Odisha Border (AOB), is tense as the first anniversary of the Ramaguda or Ramgarh Exchange of Fire (EOF) draws nearer.
The CPI (Maoist) is making arrangements to hold a major commemoration meet to observe the first anniversary even as the security forces have intensified the combing and stepped up the security measures to ensure normalcy in the region. Check-posts have been put up at all strategic junctions and vital installations fortified.
It may be recalled that on October 24 last, about 30 members, including top Maoist leaders, were killed in an alleged EOF with the Greyhounds of the Andhra Pradesh police.
In the exchange, almost the entire top leadership of the Malkangiri-Koraput-Visakhapatnam Border (MKVB) division and part of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) was wiped out. They include leaders such as Bakuri Venkata Ramana alias Ganesh (SZCM), Kistayya alias Daya (SZCM), Gangadhar (DCM) and Prithviraj alias Munna (DCM).
According to sources, two or three major groups, led by Naveen, Krishna and Sudheer, are scouting the Agency areas and are likely to assemble somewhere close to Ramgarh in the cut-off area of AOB to host the meeting.
“Post Ramgarh incident, it is still not clear who is in-charge of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC). Sometimes we hear it is Gajarla Ravi alias Uday and some say it is Sudheer or Assanna. But there is a presence of a few senior leaders in the AOB region,” says Visakhapatnam SP Rahul Dev Sharma.
In the last two months, the Maoists have been active in the Agency area and involved in a number of incidents.
In the first week of September, they set afire four earth moving equipment in G Madugula mandal in Visakhapatnam Agency, on October 11, they torched a BSNL cell facility in Darakonda area of GK Veedhi mandal, on October 15, they killed one Gompa Lova Raju (30), a trader in Korukonda of Chintapalli mandal after branding him as a police informer and in the last two days they killed a person in the cut-off area of Odisha and blasted a supply boat.
These incidents indicate that they are desperate to make their presence felt in the Agency area. They have been trying to do something big to avenge the Ramgarh EOF, but have not succeeded so far and in return have resorted to killing of innocent tribal people, says DIG of Visakhapatnam (Range) Ch. Srikanth.
Tactical campaign
“Since the last two months, the Maoists have being conducting TCOC (Tactical counter offensive campaign) to lure the security forces into an ambush. There were a number of occasions when we were almost led to an ambush-like situation, but the presence of mind of our field commandos and tactical restraint helped us from falling into the trap,” says a senior commando who is posted with the AP Special Police and is engaged in combing operation in the Agency area.
Mr. Rahul says the deliberate exposure and committing small offences such as burning of cell tower machinery are part of the TCOC. “They expect us to follow their trail, which would eventually lead to an ambush.”
