RAIPUR
: Maoists in some villages of
Bijapur
district, close to
Chhattisgarh
’s border with Telangana, allege a ‘drone attack’ by security forces on the intervening night of April 14-15 and claim
Army and Air Force involvement as well. Police have denied it and dubbed it ‘
Maoist propaganda’.
Villagers of Metagudam and Botetom in Pamed, a hilly area, have said that they heard deafening explosions that night. They collected some metal shards from the spot and say they were parts of bombs dropped from drones.
The CPI(Maoist) has issued three press releases in the week since, accusing security forces in Telangana and Chhattisgarh of resorting to “aerial attack on tribal villages”.
Bastar IG P Sundarraj rejected the allegations, calling it “Maoist propaganda to malign police’s image and to scare people”.
“We deny the allegations levelled by CPI(Maoist) cadres against the security forces with regard to use of drones to strike their hideouts. It is part of the propaganda by Maoist leadership to mislead the local population with an unrealistic hope of regaining their lost ground in Dandakaranya. The reality is that due to their own inhumane and anti-development deeds, Naxals have become unpopular among the native population and are on the verge of extinction,” Sundarraj told TOI.
A recent statement by Maoist spokesperson Abhay says, “The central committee of CPI(Maoists) condemns the blitz carried out at Pamed guerrilla base area of south Bastar by Chhattisgarh police and security forces supported by Indian Army and Air Force officials on April 15 1am, targeting PLGA and local tribe.”
He alleged that more than 50 drones were used in the “aerial bombing” and over 50 high explosive bombs were dropped, hitting huts used by villagers to store forest produce. There are pictures going around of depressions on the ground and holes in trees.
Some villagers told local journalists that it could be the action of Chhattisgarh security forces as well since the villages are so close to the border.
They confirmed the presence of Maoists in the region two days prior to the attack but say the insurgents had left by the time the ‘explosions’ happened.
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