Bastar:As part of Martyrs Week, a large number of Maoists, as well as people from nearby villages of Bastar, attended the meeting, which was convened on the Bastar and Telangana border. Maoists claimed that more than 10,000 villagers were present at the meeting. Top Maoists of Chhattisgarh and Telangana have also participated in the meeting.
If this is true, then questions are being raised on the claims being made by the security forces regarding the elimination of Maoists. If the Maoists are on the back foot, then how did the Maoists manage to convene a huge public meeting on the Bastar border during Martyrs Week? Maoists observe Martyrs Week from July 28 July to August 3 every year. The Maoists cadre try to show its strength by organising Martyrs Week.
In such a scenario, the gathering of Maoists in large numbers, along with thousands of villagers, is a matter of concern. If sources are to be believed, preparations were going on for this event in the forests of Bastar for the last several months. It is learnt that a memorial for slain Maoists was constructed, which is being said as the biggest memorial ever constructed by Maoists.
Also read:Government laying roads to give a double whammy to Maoists in Chhattisgarh
The police of both these states claim that Maoists have been confined to some parts despite the fact that many camps of security forces were also opened on the border areas of both the states. The intelligence team of the police also works in the villages. The police also speak about strengthening the information system. Despite this, how did many Maoists, including the top leaders, armed with modern weapons, cross the border of the states and reach the meeting?
Bastar IG Sundarraj P said, "Our intelligence is very strong. We have set up camps in such places only in the last few months. Where it was very difficult for anyone to go. We are continuously doing the work of bringing development to the interior areas of Bastar and this process will continue even further, now any person can move into such areas within 24 hours for seven days."
He said that the gathering of Maoists of Telangana in Bastar is not surprising. Anyway, Maoists have come from outside. Many have been killed in the encounter. Maoists celebrate Martyrs Week every year in memory of their slain comrades. They exert pressure on the villagers and include them in their meetings.
