On Monday, the script had seemed sound — based on specific intelligence inputs that a few hundred Naxals were holed up in the Chintalnar forests in Dantewada, a go-ahead had been given for a full-scale joint operation by the CRPF and the state police.
Tuesday morning, it had all changed horribly — the men who were meant to carry out the operation were massacred in the worst-ever attack by Naxalites who annihilated almost an entire complement of the CRPF along with one state police constable.
Worse, at least 82 weapons, including two mortars and a host of SLRs and Insas rifles, were looted, along with their ammunition — perhaps the first time that Naxals have managed to lay their hands on mortars.
Disturbingly for officials monitoring the situation in Delhi, there is hardly any evidence yet of any casualties on the Naxal side. If there were any dead, sources said, the rebels appear to have meticulously followed the practice of taking away all bodies with them.
Initial reports indicate the Naxals had prior knowledge of the impending CRPF offensive — which was apparently planned for between 5 am and 6 am today — and laid a trap. Anticipating that once under fire, the CRPF personnel would seek cover behind rocks and trees, Naxals had placed pressure mines near these features. As it turned out, the CRPF personnel went precisely for these features as soon as the firing began, and ended up “rushing into the trap”. Most men died in the blasts; others were shot by the Naxals who had surrounded them.
Some reinforcements were, in fact, dispatched — but they were probably not enough, and came under attack as well. The massive toll indicates the security forces were completely outwitted and outnumbered.
The CRPF was to act jointly with local police, familiar with the terrain and forest routes. It turned out, however, that only two senior local constables were accompanying the CRPF personnel — one of whom was killed in the ambush. This has now raised questions about the coordination on the ground, despite clear directives from the Centre.
The Centre has sent a fact-finding team, and is planning its retaliation, though officials conceded that it would not be easy. The attack has sharpened doubts over the government's tactics, over whether massive troop presence is indeed translating into area domination, which is the objective of the joint operation.
