Chhattisgarh:
Bijapur: Diminishing Heartland
Deepak
Kumar Nayak
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management
On November
12, 2017, three Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist)
cadres were killed in an encounter with the Security Forces
(SFs) near Mankeli village under the Bijapur Police Station
limits in Bijapur District. SF personnel who were on an
anti-Maoist operation in the area came under Maoist fire
and an encounter ensued. SFs recovered bodies of three
Maoists, along with three weapons, including one INSAS
(Indian Small Arms System) assault rifle, and Improvised
Explosive Devices (IEDs) from the encounter site.
On September
4, 2017, a CPI-Maoist cadre was killed in an encounter
between SFs and CPI-Maoist cadres in Bijapur District.
SFs recovered one AK-47 rifle, magazines and a wireless
set, along with other material from the encounter site.
Earlier,
on June 25, 2017, a CPI-Maoist cadre was killed during
an anti-Maoist operation in the Basaguda Forest near Pediya
village under Basaguda Police Station limits in Bijapur
District. The body of the Maoist was recovered from the
encounter site.
According
to partial data collated by the South Asia Terrorism
Portal (SATP), at least 16 Maoists have been killed
in Bijapur District thus far in 2017 (data till November
19, 2017). During the corresponding period in 2016, 28
Maoists had been killed. A total of 33 Maoists were killed
through 2016. There were at least 17 Maoist fatalities
in 2015, 20 in 2014, 11 in 2013, 27 in 2012, 14 in 2011,
31 in 2010, 41 in 2009, 44 in 2008, and 10 in 2007. Thus,
a total of 264 Maoists have been eliminated since the
creation of the District on May 11, 2007.
Out of
31 Districts across seven States from where Maoist fatalities
have been recorded in the current year, Bijapur was ranked
2nd, with 16 Maoist fatalities; preceded by
Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh) with 21 Maoist fatalities (data
till November 19, 2017).
Moreover,
according to SATP data, at least 49 Maoists have been
arrested in Bijapur District in 2017 (data till November
19, 2017). During the corresponding period in 2016, 41
Maoists had been arrested, and a total of 72 through 2016.
Most recently, on November 3, 2017, four Maoists were
arrested following an encounter between SFs and the rebels
in Bijapur District.
Mounting
SF pressure also led to the surrender of 11 Maoists in
2017 (data till November 19, 2017), according to SATP
data. During the corresponding period in 2016, 79 Maoists
had surrendered, and a total of 85 through 2016. Significantly,
on July 27, 2017, six Maoists, including, Hapka Payku
(25), a 'section commander' carrying a reward of INR 300,000
on his head, surrendered in Bijapur District, citing disappointment
with the "hollow" Maoist ideology.
Meanwhile,
SFs suffered seven losses in the District in the current
year (data till November 19, 2017). During the corresponding
period of the preceding year, SFs had recorded nine losses.
There was no further loss in this category in the remaining
period of 2016. Thus, SFs secured a significantly positive
kill ratio in these two years – 1:3.66 in 2016 and 1:
2.28 in 2017 (data till November 19 for both years), the
two best kill ratios recorded in favour of SFs in the
District. Earlier ratios in favour of SFs were recorded
in 2008 - 1: 2.2; 2009 - 1:2.41; 2010 - 1:2.41; 2012 -
1:2.41; 2013 - 1:2.41; 2014 - 1:2.41; and 2015 - 1:2.41.
On the contrary, in 2007 and 2011, the Maoists got the
better of SFs, with ratios at 2.3:1 and 1.14:1, respectively.
The situation on the ground has remained in favour of
SFs since 2012.
Fatalities
in Bijapur District and Chhattisgarh: 2007*- 2017**
Year
|
Bijapur
|
Chhattisgarh
|
Bijapur's
share in % of Total killing
|
Civilians
|
SFs
|
Maoists
|
Total
|
Civilians
|
SFs
|
Maoists
|
Total
|
2007
|
27
|
23
|
10
|
60
|
95
|
182
|
73
|
350
|
17.14
|
2008
|
16
|
20
|
44
|
80
|
35
|
67
|
66
|
168
|
47.61
|
2009
|
28
|
17
|
41
|
86
|
87
|
121
|
137
|
345
|
24.92
|
2010
|
18
|
20
|
31
|
69
|
72
|
153
|
102
|
327
|
21.10
|
2011
|
12
|
16
|
14
|
42
|
39
|
67
|
70
|
176
|
23.86
|
2012
|
14
|
6
|
27
|
47
|
26
|
36
|
46
|
108
|
43.51
|
2013
|
15
|
10
|
11
|
36
|
48
|
45
|
35
|
128
|
28.12
|
2014
|
10
|
7
|
20
|
37
|
25
|
55
|
33
|
113
|
32.74
|
2015
|
7
|
13
|
17
|
37
|
34
|
41
|
45
|
120
|
30.83
|
2016
|
6
|
9
|
33
|
48
|
38
|
36
|
133
|
207
|
23.18
|
2017
|
3
|
7
|
16
|
26
|
25
|
59
|
71
|
155
|
16.77
|
Total
|
156
|
148
|
264
|
568
|
524
|
862
|
811
|
2197
|
25.85
|
Source:
SATP, *Data till November 19, 2017.
* Bijapur carved out on May 11, 2007.
|
The current
year has also recorded the lowest number of civilian fatalities
recorded since 2007. According to SATP data, at least
three civilians were killed in Bijapur District in 2017
(data till November 19, 2017), as against four such fatalities
recorded during the corresponding period in 2016. Fatalities
in this category had been decreasing, on year on year
basis, since 2015, and reached their lowest at six in
2016. A maximum of 28 civilian fatalities were recorded
in 2009.
Bijapur,
one of the twenty seven Districts of Chhattisgarh, was
carved out of Dantewada as a separate District on March
11, 2007. With a population of 255,230 (Census 2011),
Bijapur is spread over a geographical area of 6,562.48
square kilometres, of which around 1,848.07 square kilometres
(28 per cent of its total area) is under forest cover.
Located in the extreme south-west part of the State, Bijapur
shares its boundary with the Maoist-afflicted Narayanpur
District to the North; Bastar to the North-east; Dantewada
to the east; Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam Districts
of Telangana on the south; and Gadchiroli District of
Maharashtra on the West. Difficult terrain and natural
protection, proximity with other Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected
Districts and States (Telangana and Maharashtra), and
its location partly within the densely forested Abujhmad
area (which spreads over 3,900 square kilometres in Chhattisgarh),
gives Bijapur immense ‘geo-strategic importance’ from
a Maoist perspective.
Worse,
the District is extremely backward and impoverished. According
to the Census 2011, Bijapur’s per capita income of INR
12,088 is extremely low in comparison to the State average
of INR 28,263 – which itself is abysmally low (against
an all-India average is 38,005). Bijapur has a significantly
low literacy rate of 37.07 per cent, only better than
Dantewada, with 34.38 per cent. Chhattisgarh’s overall
literacy rate was 70.28 per cent, and the all-India literacy
rate was 73 per cent. Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) at the
upper primary level in Bijapur was 28.4 per cent, much
lower than the State’s NER of 67.8 per cent.
Indeed,
Bijapur is ranked 3rd among the worst affected,
out of the 139
Maoist-affected Districts in the country,
in terms of fatalities recorded in such violence since
its formation in 2007. Bijapur falls under the troubled
Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh, which remains the principal
challenge for the State, was also
listed among the eight worst affected LWE Districts in
Chhattisgarh and the 35 worst-affected Districts identified
by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) in 2010.
Despite
SF successes in bringing significant improvement in the
security situation, consequently, the problem lingers.
The Maoists are hell bent on regaining their hold in the
region. Indeed, an alert was issued by intelligence agencies
on May 18, 2017, stating that over 100 armed guerrillas
of CPI-Maoist from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha
have sneaked into south Bastar and were spotted in the
jungles of Bijapur-Sukma region. Intelligence sources
disclosed that CPI-Maoist cadres were planning a repeat
of the April 24, 2017, Sukma
attack, in which 25 Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed.
While fatalities
in Maoist-linked violence have witnessed a sharp
decline in the District (as is the
case in the State and the country at large), other parameters
of violence in the District remain more or less the same.
According to the SATP database, at least 20 encounters
between SFs and Maoists were reported in the District
in the current year, as against 19 such encounters in
the corresponding period of 2016, and 26 through 2016.
Besides, there were at least nine incidents of seizure
of arms and ammunition by SFs in 2017, during which huge
caches were recovered. In 2016, during the corresponding
period, there were 14 such incidents of recovery, and
16 through 2016. The Maoists have also continued to disrupt
developmental works in the District. At least five incidents
of disruption were reported in the District in the current
year, as against two such incidents in the corresponding
period of 2016 and no further such incidents in the remaining
period of 2016.
Moreover,
the rebels continue to threaten civilians, including the
Government machinery. Most recently, Maoist banners and
posters were recovered from the tehsildar’s (settlement
officer) office in the Usur Block (administrative unit)
and other areas of Bijapur District on November 17, 2017.
In the poster reportedly signed by Madvi Hidma, the South
Bastar Zonal Committee ‘secretary’, the Maoists threatened
the Chhattisgarh Forest Minister Mahesh Gagda, the patwari
(Government official responsible for land records) and
tehsildar of Usur Block, accusing them of “anti-people”
activities. The poster also declared that journalists
like Sai Reddy, who misrepresent encounters on television
or in newspapers would be killed. Significantly, Bijapur-based
Sai Reddy was killed at Basaguda village in Bijapur District
on December 6, 2013. D. M. Awasthi, Special Director General
(SDG, Anti Naxal Operations), observed, “This is the first
time in recent times that they have issued a written threat
like this…”
A number
of steps have already been
taken to secure the region in particular
and the State at large, though further corrective measures
are still needed. On March 15, 2017, Chief Minister (CM)
Raman Singh asserted, “The authorities are working on
the socio-economic front in Bastar division and the results
will be known soon.” He elaborated further that medical
services were being expanded in Bijapur District under
a ‘new innovative model’. In a major positive intervention,
Ayyaj Tamboli, the District Collector of Bijapur, helped
the District, which was facing acute doctor shortage,
in filling most of the vacancies. According to Government
statistics, there were 11 doctors in position in Bijapur
as against 67 sanctioned post as on March 31, 2016, resulting
in vacancies in 56 posts. Due to Tamboli’s intervention,
vacancies dropped to 20 on October 9, 2016. Moreover,
Tamboli first upgraded the District Hospital, Bijapur,
with funds available under the National Health Mission
and the District Mineral Funds and brought in expertise
and equipment with the help of the Public Health Foundation
of India and the United Nations International Children's
Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The hospital was also equipped
with a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU), two new operation
theatres, a blood bank and a 50-bed maternal and child
healthcare unit. Nevertheless, medical facilities outside
the District Headquarters are negligible to non-existent.
Further,
on November 3, 2017, the State Government approved one
Kendriya Vidyalaya and one Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
(JNV) for Bijapur, in its effort to improve the education
infrastructure. Earlier, on July 14, 2017, School Education
Minister Kedar Kashyap had stated that, on the directive
of the Chief Minister, a master plan was on the anvil
to make education accessible to the depressed castes and
classes in 15 development blocks in 13 Districts, including
Bijapur.
On November
3, 2017, Chief Minister Raman Singh stated that construction
of roads in LWE-affected regions had gradually increased
over the preceding three years and that, in the current
year, the State had constructed 400 kilometres of new
road in Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Dantewada. On October
22, 2017, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Rajesh
Munat disclosed that the Chhattisgarh Government was getting
a Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared for construction
of bridges under the Centre’s Road Requirement Plan (RRP)
Phase-II scheme in five insurgency infested Districts
of the Bastar region: Bijapur, Bastar, Sukma, Dantewada
and Kanker.
Maoist
violence has declined in Bijapur, as is the case in Chhattisgarh
at large as well as India.
However, Maoist strongholds still remain a concern. Bijapur,
which falls under the formidable Abujhmad region and the
troubled Bastar Division remains a challenge.
|