Chhattisgarh Maoist Attack: Intelligence Failure Results In Huge Loss Of Lives
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-04-05 15:24:50
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The death of 22 jawans in Chhattisgarh in one of the deadliest Maoist attacks in recent times is disturbing. All accounts point to a serious intelligence failure. The attack seemed planned as nearly 400 Maoists are said to have ambushed and fought a pitched battle with the jawans, killing 22 and injuring 31 others. One jawan is still missing.
Reports say that the survey of the battleground reveals that Maoists laid a trap, surrounded the troops from three sides, caught them unawares when they tried to take shelter in abandoned huts and stabbed, shot and hacked them to death.
Such a prolonged gun battle and the ferocity of the attack show that the operation was planned with precision. The idea was to inflict the maximum damage on the troops. Hence, it is safe to assume two things - one, the Maoists knew about the movement of the security forces, their strength and the weapons they would carry and two, the security forces had no inkling of the lurking danger.
Any fight against the ultras can only be successful when the forces protect their backs thoroughly as well as get timely intelligence about what the ultras are planning. Even if a mole had informed the ultras about the troop movement, it is absolutely shocking how the security forces could not gather information about such a big operation being planned by them. If 400 Maoists were involved in the operation, it must have taken a lot of planning and logistics to bring them at the site along with weapons. But if there was no buzz about it, it means that the informers of the security forces have either been neutralized or have switched sides.
The home ministry must review the situation and go after the Madvi Hidma group which is said to have complete control in the area. It is of utmost importance to liquidate Hidma and his top associates to both establish a semblance of rule of law in the area and provide a confidence booster to the shattered jawans.
