The Battle for Maoist Stronghold

When security personnel were firing bullets at Maoists in the Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, around 300 km away, a team of Chhattisgarh police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officers were putting finishing touches on another project that didn't make the headlines but could end up being the most significant victory for the government against the insurgents this year.

- Ritesh Mishra and Prawesh Lama

RAIPUR/NEW DELHI: When security personnel were firing bullets at Maoists in the Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, around 300 km away, a team of Chhattisgarh police and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officers were putting finishing touches on another project that didn't make the headlines but could end up being the most significant victory for the government against the insurgents this year.

The troops built a 5 km stretch from Padamkot village in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district to Kuwakodi village in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. At 5 pm on Saturday, when the road was completed, the nondescript stretch pierced through the heart of the once-impregnable Abujhmad, reaching the Maharashtra border, and allowing the forces to set up camp in a hitherto uncontrolled area.

"In March 2024, we were 50 km away from the Maharashtra border. Today our forces went to the border. The last camp was Padamkot. This means we have connected Abujhmad—east to west. The prejudice that Abujhmad cannot be conquered and Naxals will have a free run at the Maharashtra border is a thing of the past," said an officer, requesting anonymity.

Prabhat Kumar, superintendent of police, Narayanpur, confirmed that the last stretch in Abujhmad between Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra was taken over on Saturday evening, mere hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Chhattisgarh on Sunday.

The brown road represents the latest conquest in the government's fierce onslaught on Maoists in the past year. Forces have killed at least 135 Maoists this year and 219 last year, far higher than 22 in 2023 and 30 in 2022. Security forces have also arrested 104 rebels in different parts of the country so far in 2025, and another 164 have surrendered, according to a home ministry statement earlier this month.