A file photo of CRPF personnel on patrol in Nandigarm, West Bengal. Members of the force have borne the brunt of Maoist insurgency. A file photo of CRPF personnel on patrol in Nandigarm, West Bengal. Members of the force have borne the brunt of Maoist insurgency.

A deadly trend has struck roots in India's Red Corridor over the past three years. A soldier fighting Maoists deep inside the jungles of central and southcentral India is far more likely to be killed than his uniformed brothers taking on militants in Jammu and Kashmir or insurgents in the North-east.

Rebels in the Red zone are killing more soldiers than are dying in all insurgency-hit areas put together. Official data from the Union home ministry shows that at least one security personnel loses his life to Maoists possibility of the enemy surprising security forces makes the job of their personnel highly risky.

"Numbers can never tell the real horror tales. There is death at every step," says an official who has served in these highrisk zones. Maoists are acknowledged experts in planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and are always devising new strategies to ensure mass killings. And they seem to be getting better. There have been recent incidents when several security personnel have been butchered in one ambush. Sources say IED explosions have been responsible for most deaths. "They plan attacks and ambush our forces resulting in large killings," the officer said.

Scary numbers

The numbers tell the tale. The death toll of security personnel killed between 2011 and 2013 was 371 in the Maoist zone; the number of incidents of violence in the Red zone was 4,311. High intensity conflict zones like Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya seem safer than the Maoist bastions of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh or Orissa where most the security personnel killings have taken place. The total death toll in all insurgency-affected areas was 239 in the same period and the number of incidents of violence 3,123.

"Terrorism is a product of enemy countries. But that's not the case with Maoists. They are receiving support from many quarters within the country The government is restrained against them," said Ajai Raj Sharma, former Director-General of the Border Security Force. Insurgency in the Northeast has been controlled but that's not the case with Maoists, he said. "In Jammu & Kashmir there is a higher risk involved of being caught as the terrorists infiltrate from Pakistan. The Maoists can plan their offences better since they don't have to bother about getting people from outside," Sharma explained.

The main force fighting the Maoists is the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and is most affected by the tough conditions at hand. "No wonder the attrition rate in CRPF is highest among paramilitary forces," said one officer on condition of anonymity.

The CRPF also accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the suicides that take place in all paramilitary forces.

Sources say in many cases the reasons can be attributed to the Maoist insurgency. The number of suicides in the force is on the rise. The disturbing trend has been a cause of worry for the home ministry; since 2008 the CRPF has had the most suicides. The Maoist insurgency has taken its toll on the force in more ways than one.

Sources say in many cases the reasons can be attributed to the Maoist insurgency. In the last five years the force has seen more than 700 people take voluntary retirement.

Civilians unsafe

Civilians in the Maoist areas fare no better. In the last three years, a thousand civilians have been killed in the war between the rebels and security forces. The civilian death count in other insurgency zones was 389. In fact, the number of civilians killed in the Red corridor is much more than the number of security forces and the number of Maoists killed.