Raipur/Bijapur, Feb 14 (IANS) In a concerted effort to curb Maoist influence in the sensitive South Bastar region, security forces on Saturday conducted joint operations across multiple police station areas in Bijapur district, resulting in the demolition of five memorials erected by Maoists.

The operation marks another step in the ongoing anti-Maoist campaign aimed at dismantling insurgent propaganda and psychological hold over local communities.

According to the police officials, the actions were part of intensive and effective measures against the Maoists.

Under the Tarrem police station jurisdiction, a joint team comprising CRPF battalions identified and demolished one such memorial in the Mandimarka forest area, adhering to established security protocols.

In the Usur police station area, operations yielded significant results with the destruction of four memorials in total.

A combined force of a CRPF battalion and Cobra battalion razed two structures in the Marudhabaka forests, while another team from CRPF battalion eliminated two more such structures in the Paurguda and Singanapalli forest regions.

These memorials, often built to commemorate fallen Maoist leaders and cadres, serve as symbols of rebel ideology and recruitment tools in remote tribal areas.

By removing them, security personnel aim to disrupt the narrative of martyrdom propagated by the insurgents, thereby weakening their grip on vulnerable populations.

The officials further said that this success contributes to eliminating Maoist propaganda in the South Bastar area, with forces continuing search, area domination, and patrol activities to maintain pressure. This latest operation follows a pattern of escalated anti-Naxal activities in the region.

Just a day earlier, on February 13, reports indicated that security forces in Bijapur defused improvised explosive devices and demolished additional Maoist memorials, including one honoring Nambala Keshava Rao, alias Basavaraju, the former general secretary of the CPI-Maoist killed in a 2025 encounter.

Similar actions were noted in areas like Awapalli-Murdanda and Gangaloor, where IEDs planted to target security vehicles were neutralised, and memorials in forested stretches such as Todka-Korcholi and Peddakorma were razed.

The Chhattisgarh government, under Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, has intensified efforts to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism by March 2026, as pledged by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Bijapur, part of the Bastar division, remains a hotspot for Maoist activities due to its dense jungles and tribal demographics, where insurgents exploit grievances over land rights and development.

–IANS

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