One killed, 15 hurt in Naxal attack

One police constable was killed and 15 of his colleagues were injured in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli District, about 250 kms from here late on Tuesday night.

The vehicle carrying 17 security personnel was ambushed at Phulbondi in Vidharbha.

Constable Devendra Raspekar died on the spot, while the condition of sub-inspector Harish Madavi and two other constables was described as serious by doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital here. The other policemen received minor injuries and were being treated at a Gadchiroli medical dispensary..

According to India Defence, an independent news and research outfit, the Naxal movement in Maharashtra is not recognised, but this has not stopped the Maoists from carving out a guerrilla zone in the underdeveloped tribal areas of eastern Maharashtra over the last two decades.

It was during the 1980s that the Naxals entered from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh with the slogan 'liberation against state repression.' They managed to establish rapport with the local poverty stricken tribals by regularly visiting their villages. While the Naxals were making inroads into eastern Maharashtra, the government was terming them as the 'spill over effect' from Andhra Pradesh.

Today, there are fifteen Dalams (Naxal outfits) working in Maharashtra, among which the Platoon Dalam, Tipagarh Dalam and Khobramendha Dalam are the most vicious, as they are known to use light machine guns and other sophisticated weapons during their attacks.

The CPI (Maoist) has around 250 fulltime armed cadres and a strong contingent of 3,000 local supporters in Maharashtra. Gadchiroli has become the Red bastion in Maharashtra, whereas Chandrapur, Gondiya, Yavatmal, Bhandara and Nanded Districts have been declared "Naxal prone areas". All these districts adjoin the Naxal-infested regions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. The Ministry of Home Affairs' Annual Report (2004-05) registered an alarming 15 per cent increase in Naxal violence in Maharashtra during 2004.

Last year proved to be more eventful with the Naxals systematically choosing their targets and spreading their area of operation. Throughout the year, the Naxals have targeted security personnel, and what is even more surprising is their sustained attack on local self-government institutions.

In and around Gadchiroli, police records show that more then 80 per cent of the people killed are tribals. Gadchiroli is one of the least developed districts in Maharashtra where the poorest of the poor live amidst extreme violence and abject poverty. The Vidarbha region has also witnessed highest number of suicides among the farmers in 2005. Although these deaths are not related to the problem of Naxalism, the Naxals have used this situation to win over the disgruntled farmers by criticising the failure of the state government to rescue of farmers.

The state government has formulated a surrender policy that provides cash benefits to those surrendering and providing them self-employment and education. This policy can yield results only when people are confident about the government.

For decades, Naxalism has remained relevant because it embodies a response to socio-political and economic wrongs. But the Naxal presence has made development non existent. It is ironical that in the name of revolution, Naxals are collecting money, but government funds meant for tribal and rural development remain unspent or fall into the wrong hands.