Telangana: Forces launch final offensive against Naxals at Karregutta; CRPF officer loses leg

Security forces on Tuesday launched the “final assault” at the Karregutta hills in Telangana where a coordinated and “biggest-ever” anti-Naxal operation has been launched by the CRPF a fortnight ago that has led to the recovery of more than a hundred IEDs and injuries to close to 10 personnel, official sources said. A 32-year-old Assistant Commandant rank officer of the 204 CoBRA battalion of the CRPF, Sagar Borade, lost his left leg in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on May 4 while he was trying to rescue an injured jawan, they said.

The officer, without caring for his life, led from the front and rescued his junior colleague. He is being recommended for a gallantry medal, the officials said.

As many as 20 new companies of the CRPF, comprising about 2,000 personnel, have been deployed in the operational area from Monday night.

About 10 personnel, five from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the rest from various units of the Chhattisgarh Police like the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF), have been injured in the operation that was launched on April 21 at the Kartegutta hills in Telangana along the border with Chhattisgarh.

Two CRPF troops suffered major IED injuries on Tuesday, and they are being airlifted for treatment. Around 120 IEDs have been recovered from the hills area till now, which is “heavily mined, along with the presence of multiple bunker-like hideouts.” Borade, a native of Maharashtra, was first air evacuated to the state capital Raipur after the blast and was later admitted to AIIMS in Delhi via an air ambulance that has been specially stationed in Chhattisgarh for this “biggest ever” anti-Naxal operation involving as many as 20,000 troops across various locations, they said. The forces led by the CRPF have launched a final assault now. Some senior Naxal cadres are suspected to be holed up in the hill area. The operation will reach its logical conclusion soon, a senior officer supervising the operation told PTI.

Three women Naxals have been killed in the operation till now, and an assortment of weapons and explosives have been seized, the officer said.

About four helicopters, two drone squadrons comprising 20 big and small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in each, along with satellite imagery and maps provided by the NTRO, have been deployed to track Hidma, the top commander of the PLGA battalion no 1, and other senior cadres like Deva, officials said.

Inputs suggested that Hidma was seen around a bunker built in the Karregutta Hills along with an armed squad, and the operation was launched on this information.