Date:13/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/13/stories/2008121354110400.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Maoists’ new strategy to revive movement

K. Srinivas Reddy

Select groups of villagers to be trained and platoons of ‘people’s militia’ formed

HYDERABAD: Maoists are trying out a radically new strategy with the twin aims of preventing the Andhra Pradesh police from pursuing them in their strongholds in Orissa and Chhattisgarh and making efforts to revive the revolutionary movement in the border areas of Visakhapatnam and Khammam districts.

The strategy involves training select groups of villagers in the basics of guerrilla warfare and forming platoons of ‘People’s Militia’ which could indulge in small actions like assaults, arson, putting up wall-posters, conducting meetings and even in ‘shoot-and-scoot’ attacks, just to engage the attention of the police forces. Most importantly, these militia platoons act as the ‘Local Intelligence Units’ (LIUs) for the Maoist squads.

Seven platoons

Police officers say that at least seven militia platoons were formed in Gunukurayi, Galikonda and G. Madugula areas of Visakhapatnam. Each platoon consists of around 15 members led by a commander, a senior Maoist cadre. In all, the platoon has at least four to five weapons, hand grenades and landmines. Since the militia members are not full time underground activists, they live like any villager and do not attract the attention of police.

The formation of the militia platoons was confirmed recently after the surrender of 31 militia members before the Visakhapatnam SP, Akun Sabharwal, on November 17. Subsequently, another batch of 15 members too gave themselves up on December 9. These surrendered members are stated to be from three platoons that participated in the May 29 Gunukurayi ambush against the Greyhounds.

Grand plan

Police officers admit that a company of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the fighting unit of the Maoists, had been visiting the areas abutting Orissa and is fed with intelligence inputs about the movement of the police force. The raising of these militia platoons is being interpreted as part of the Maoists’ grand plan of developing Malkangiri and surrounding districts of Orissa as the second base area after Bastar in Chhattisgarh.

The Maoists were slightly worried about the ability of the Greyhounds in penetrating into Orissa and Chhattisgarh to conduct counter-insurgency operations. But one successful raid in Balimela on June 29 killing 38 Greyhounds personnel had certainly blunted the initiative of the Andhra Pradesh police.

Sporadic incidents

“Now it’s time for them to engage the State in Andhra Pradesh. Hence the sporadic incidents of violence on Orissa and Chhattisgarh borders,” an analyst pointed out. There were instances of famine raids being conducted in Peddavalasa, GK Veedhi and attacks on villagers in Ramaraopalem and Medur villages. In Kumkumapudi area, a coffee plantation was taken over and land distributed to locals. In Khammam, there have been four killings by Maoists in the last two months.