Police started Operation Octopus in Budha Pahar, on-going preparations to remove Maoists
This time the police has decided to make the Maoists devoid of Naxalites' safe zone Budha Pahar, located on the border of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. For this, the police of Garhwa, Latehar and Chhattisgarh jointly divided the old mountain by four.
This time the police has decided to make the Maoists devoid of Naxalites' safe zone Budha Pahar, located on the border of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. For this, the police of Garhwa, Latehar and Chhattisgarh have jointly started Operation Octopus by encircling the old mountain from all sides. Jharkhand Police, CRPF, Jaguar Assault Group, IRB and Cobra Battalion have taken the lead in this operation. This is the reason that for the first time the police has succeeded in crossing the foothills of the old mountain and climbing up a quarter of the total height.
A cache of explosives including weapons recovered
On Tuesday, the second day of the operation, where the police had an encounter with the Naxalites, on the third day on Wednesday, the police succeeded in recovering a cache of explosives including state-of-the-art weapons from the bunker under the front made by the Naxalites. During the operation, as the police is climbing the height of the mountain. By the way, along with the recovery of explosives, land mines are also being exploded. According to information received from sources, landmines and pressure bombs exploded on the mountain on Tuesday and Wednesday also. Its echo is reaching the villages adjacent to the old mountain everyday.
Campaign launched to make Budha Pahad Naxalite-free
It is noteworthy that the old mountain, which has been a safe zone of Maoists for the last two decades, is spread over an area of 55 sq km on the border of Latehar, Garhwa and Chhattisgarh. To make this area Naxal-free, the security forces launched a big campaign dozens of times. In this, the police also got success many times, but also suffered losses. For this reason, many times the campaign had to be stopped in the middle. But this time the police is moving towards success by encircling them and demolishing the bunkers of the Naxalites.
A gathering of 35 Naxalites including a big leader of Maoist
According to the information received from the sources, there is a gathering of about 35 Maoists on the old mountain, including Maoist's big leader Markus Baba. Markus Baba alias Saurabh is a member of the Special Area Committee of the Maoists. The police has placed a reward of Rs 25 lakh on him. It is said that Maoists' zonal and area commanders such as Naxalites Naveen Yadav, Mrityunjay Bhuyan, Santu Bhuyan and Ravindra Ganjhu are camping in the Budha Pahar area.
Panic in foothill villages
The people of Pundag village of Chhattisgarh, situated on the foothills of Budha mountain, are in panic. There is confusion among the villagers here. When it will happen, they do not even know. The whole village is deserted. It is said that in this village settled in the foothills, there used to be frequent gatherings of Naxalites. For the first time, through Operation Octopus, the police have surrounded the hilly area and converted the villages into police camps. The villagers are also apprehensive about this campaign of the police this time. They also have a fear of firing.
