A search-and-destroy operation along the border of Bijapur and Sukma was launched on Saturday, 3 April, by a contingent of 1,500 troops, including members of the Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), District Force of the Chhattisgarh Police, the CRPF and its elite COBRA unit.
The operation was based on inputs of Naxal presence in the area. There were also intelligence inputs about the presence of a wanted Naxal leader Madvi Hidma.
The contingent was ambushed by a group of around 400 Maoists, possibly led by Hidma of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). At least 22 security personnel were martyred and around 31 were injured.
No Intelligence Failure: CRPF Chief
CRPF Chief Kuldiep Singh, who paid a visit to Chhattisgarh after the Maoist attack, had said that there was no operational failure.
Singh told ANI, “There is no point in saying that there was some kind of intelligence or operational failure. Had it been some intelligence failure, forces would have…
