Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), April 10: Police and paramilitary forces in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh are in hot pursuit of the Naxalites, who are on the run after ambushing and killing 76 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Chintalnar forest, south Bastar, on Tuesday.

Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan told this newspaper there were about 300 Naxalites involved in the guerrilla attack on the CRPF team. About 100 of them must have been part of the trained military company of the CPI (Maoist) and the remaining 200 would be local supporters. He said they have information that the Naxalites involved in the Chintalnar attack have now broken up into three groups moving in three directions. The job at hand is to close in and catch them, he said.
State additional director-general of police (anti-Naxal operations) Ramnivas said on Saturday they had firm leads indicating that the Naxalites were moving in three directions. While one group is heading towards Konta to sneak into Andhra Pradesh, another is trying to enter Malkangiri in Orissa by crossing the Sabri river. A third group is trying to lie low in Bastar region by hiding in the Dantewada and Bijapur forests.
Mr Ramnivas said the operation to chase the Naxals is now an inter-state affair under a joint command.
The CRPF personnel of 62 Battalion, posted near ground zero where 67 security personnel died fighting Naxalites, are today a determined lot. They want to avenge the killings. The CRPF jawans at Chintalnar camp told this correspondent that they want the war against the Naxalites to be fought to the finish. “Those who take decisions should leave no stone unturned to outwit the savage Naxalites,” many of them said, adding they do not understand what is holding them back from using air power to at least ferry the forces to strategic locations. They said the Naxals should not be allowed to choose their targets at will. The general consensus among the CRPF personnel during a long conversation with them was that there should be optimum use of local informers and guerrilla tactics should be employed to hunt down the Naxals in their hideouts.
When this correspondent asked where the ambush had taken place, one of them, who had been part of the rescue operation and had recovered many landmines from the ambush site, said it would be dangerous to go there at dusk as there could be more landmines in the area.
About four km from the Chintalnar camp, as one proceeded towards Chintagufa on a gravelled road, there was a small clearing in the bushes at the base of a hilly mound on the right. About 200 metres ahead was the spot where the CRPF team was caught by surprise. As one moved ahead, one was reminded of the warning about landmines and was cautious not to step on surfaces that could have been freshly covered with mud or dry leaves.

Lalit Shastri