The operation against the Naxals on Tuesday morning is seen as significant as it marks a major tactical shift in the MHA’s strategy which earlier discouraged hot pursuit of Naxals. As a result, once the Naxals crossed from one state into another, it would become difficult for the police force of that particular state to chase them and conduct operations out of their state’s jurisdiction. But now the MHA has been covertly supporting such hot pursuit.
“See, law and order is a state subject and it will be difficult for the Centre to intervene in this. But since the Naxal issue has now become a national security hazard there’s nothing wrong with the policy of hot pursuit. But it should be done selectively, as was witnessed in the recent incident. It has been common practice for Naxals to shift base quickly from one state to another to avoid police action. This needs to be stopped,” a top MHA official remarked.
The Greyhounds, credited with dealing firmly with the Naxal problem in Andhra, are also believed to have developed more intelligence regarding the presence of some top Naxal leaders in Jagdalpur region. The Greyhounds, along with the CRPF, are expected to launch a fresh offensive against Naxals in the Jagdalpur region shortly.
According to security experts, in this particular encounter the Naxals were caught unawares as they never thought that the Greyhounds would cross into Chhattisgarh while chasing them from Andhra. Security forces recovered sophisticated weapons, like INSAS and automatic rifles from the slain Naxals. Most of the recovered weapons had been looted by the Maoists from the security forces earlier. Sources claimed that during the encounter some of the top Naxal leaders managed to escape and that a massive hunt was on.
“Since we have cordoned off the entire area it seems unlikely that the other Naxals would have gone far. We are hoping for another big encounter,” an official added.