The encounter site in Gadchiroli

NEW DELHI: The killing of 37 Maoists in an encounter in Maharashtra ’s Gadchiroli district is seen as a positive outcome of a recalibrated counter-Naxal strategy, where intelligence-based strikes have replaced area domination exercises that often left security forces vulnerable to ambush attacks.

The encounter, a senior home ministry official pointed out, exhibited how forces can launch an aggressive assault on Maoists based on pinpointed intelligence, while taking all precautions to avoid or minimise their own casualties.

“The C-60 squad of Maharashtra police and CRPF showed how to get right the mix of aggressive and defensive approach, something home minister Rajnath Singh has been stressing upon since the reverses of March-April last year that saw around 36 CRPF personnel martyred in two attacks within a month. Gadchiroli marks a fitting response even as central forces have made significant headway by entering so called ‘liberated’ areas in Bastar , south Chhattisgarh . The plan now is to maintain this momentum, even though there could be some setbacks in the coming days,” a home ministry officer told TOI.

The Gadchiroli success has prompted the home ministry to plan a ‘final push’ in 30 worst-hit districts spread over seven states, setting the stage for “the proposed wipe-out of Left-wing extremism by 2022,” the officer told TOI.

According to sources, Union home minister Rajnath Singh will soon preside over a meeting of district magistrates and SPs of the concerned districts to work out a security and development strategy tailored to their requirements.

“The idea is to prepare for a ‘final push’ by getting a feedback from officials on the ground on how to go ahead with security and development initiatives in the worst-hit districts,” said a senior officer.

The last such consultation was on May 8, 2017, when home minister Rajnath Singh met chief ministers of affected states and announced a new strategy — ‘SAMADHAN’.

The acronym SAMADHAN stands for smart leadership; aggressive strategy; motivation and training; actionable intelligence; dashboard based key performance indicators and key result areas; harnessing technology; action plan for each theatre; and no access to financing.

In the first three months of 2018, there have been 229 LWE-related incidents, in which 24 security forces were martyred and 44 Naxalites killed. As of now, 30 districts in AP, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telangana are categorised as worst-hit by Naxalism.

