On January 6, Naxalites had targeted a vehicle of security forces with an IED blast in Kutru, a forested area of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, in which 8 security personnel and 1 driver were killed. Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P said, ‘Naxalites blew up a police vehicle using an improvised explosive device on Kutru-Bedre road.’ According to sources, the security personnel were returning from the anti-Naxal operation in Abujhmad area, which started on January 3 and on the evening of January 4, 5 Naxalites were killed in an encounter with the security forces. A District Reserve Guard (DRG) soldier was also martyred in this encounter.
Of the 8 policemen who lost their lives in the Bijapur Naxalite attack, 5 had been Naxalite in the past. A senior officer said that all five had joined the mainstream a few years ago and had joined the police force. Bastar Range IG Sunderraj P said, ‘DRG jawans Head Constable Budhram Korsa, Constable Dumma Markam, Pandaru Ram, Baman Sodhi and Constable Somdu Vetti of Bastar Fighters, who lost their lives in the Bijapur IED blast, were earlier active as Naxalites and had to surrender. After joining the police force.
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Last year 792 Naxalites surrendered in Bastar
He said Korsa and Sodhi were natives of Bijapur district, while the three others were residents of nearby Dantewada district. IG Sundarraj P said that last year 792 Naxalites had surrendered in Bastar division consisting of 7 districts. A vehicle included in the convoy carrying security personnel was blown up by Naxalites in an IED blast near Ambeli village under Kutru police station area, in which 4 jawans each of both the units of the state police, DRG and Bastar Fighters, and a driver were killed. Death had occurred.
This was the biggest attack on security forces by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh in the last two years. DRG personnel, called ‘sons of the soil’, are recruited from among the local youth and surrendered Naxalites in Bastar division. DRG is considered the front line anti-Naxal force in the state. To deal with the threat of Left Wing Extremism that has persisted for the last four decades, DRGs were established at different times in 7 districts of Bastar division spread over an area of approximately 40,000 square kilometres.
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DRG force was first established in 2008 in the districts of Kanker (North Bastar) and Narayanpur (including Abujhmad). Five years later, in 2013, DRG force was formed in Bijapur and Bastar districts. DRG was expanded to Sukma and Kondagaon districts in 2014, while this anti-Naxal force was established in Dantewada in 2015. The ‘Bastar Fighters’ unit of the state police was established in 2022, recruiting local youth from the Bastar division who are familiar with the local culture, language, terrain and have a connect with the tribals.