Abujmarh falls, Indravati National Park emerges as last Maoist stronghold

Nagpur: As the once-impenetrable, booby-trapped bastion of Abujmarh crumbles under sustained commando operations, the almost more than five-decade-old Maoist insurgency is retreating to a new frontier — Indravati National Park — on the left bank of the Indravati River in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.Spanning almost 3,500 square kilometres, this wilderness is now emerging as the last stronghold for People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). "It's a security vacuum of 3,500 sqkm, where there are no roads or mobile connectivity, making it well suited as Maoist hideouts," explained an official. Maoists have turned the national park area into a minefield with booby traps and spike holes to ambush security forces. "They also have drones for aerial surveillance to keep a tab on movements of security forces," said the official.Security analysts warn that Indravati National Park's rugged terrain, thick forests, and proximity to Abujmarh, 70 km away, make it the likely stage for the Maoists' final stand, where top cadres would engage security forces in the final face-off to meet the Union home minister Amit Shah's deadline to wipe out Maoist insurgency.Indravati National Park's dense canopy, riverine valleys, and minimal road connectivity mirror Abujmarh's inaccessibility, offering Maoists a natural fortress, said an official who visited the terrain. Intelligence reports indicate surviving PLGA units have relocated training camps and arms caches to Indravati, leveraging its proximity to Abujmarh's tribal networks.The park's biodiversity, including tigers and leopards, adds complexity, limiting large-scale operations due to environmental regulations. Yet, security forces are undeterred. "Indravati is Abujmarh 2.0," said a senior officer. "But we've learned from the past. This time, we're better equipped."The latest coronation of Devji as the general secretary of CPI (Maoist) at the national park underscored the growing importance of the area, where several fierce encounters have taken place in the recent past. A security personnel was recently killed in a blast in the park area. Top Maoist leader Bhaskar too was shot here a few months ago, reflecting the occasional forays by security forces into the heart of the national park.The shift to Indravati reflects Maoists' desperation. Once commanding a "red corridor" across central India, their influence waned, with cadre strength dropping from 10,000 in 2010 to under 2,000 in 2025, as per home ministry estimates. Surrenders, arrests, and encounters decimated leadership, while development projects — roads, schools, and mobile towers — eroded tribal support.However, Indravati's terrain poses fresh challenges. "Maoists are cornered but not defeated," said a police official. "They're using Indravati to regroup, but it's their last gamble." For decades, Abujmarh's around 4,500-square-kilometre expanse of uncharted hills and jungles served as the Maoists' fortress.Known as the "unknown hills" in Gondi language, it was a sanctuary where the guerrillas trained, crafted explosives, and sheltered top leaders among the Gond, Muria, and Halba tribes. Its inaccessibility deterred outsiders, with treacherous paths, booby traps, and spike pits thwarting security forces. From the late 1980s, after Maoists fled crackdowns in Andhra Pradesh, Abujmarh became their central hub — a "liberated zone" for strategy, recruitment, and recuperation. Govt welfare schemes and mapping efforts faltered, leaving the region a black hole in India's administrative reach.Operation Green Hunt, launched in 2009, marked the beginning of Abujmarh's unravelling. The multi-state offensive, combining CRPF, state police, and intelligence units, chipped away at Maoist dominance. Drones, satellite imagery, and informer networks exposed hideouts and supply lines. By 2024, the tide turned decisively.