Anti-Maoist operations: former Chhattisgarh CM Baghel questions ‘unreasonable deadlines’

Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel questions Abujhmad encounter, criticizes BJP government, and urges caution in anti-Naxal operations.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday (December 18, 2024) questioned the veracity of last week’s Abujhmad encounter after it emerged that four minors were injured in the gunfight between the security force and the Naxals.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr. Baghel attacked the BJP government in the State questioning how the children were hurt and questioned the party’s record as far as alleged fake encounters under its tenure were concerned.

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“How come these children were hurt when the forces were fighting the Naxals? Was it truly an encounter or the killing of innocent people? The BJP government has a poor record regarding fake encounters. Even during its last tenure, there were numerous cases of such incidents,” he wrote.

On December 12, in an encounter between Maoists and security forces in the forest mountain of Kalhaja-Dondarbera of South Abujhmad area, the bodies of seven armed uniformed Maoists including five men and two women were recovered along with weapons. These included Karthik. On the injuries to the civilians, the police have claimed that they were being used as human shields to save Karthik’s life.

In an apparent dig at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s repeated assertions that Naxalism would be wiped out from the State by March 2026, Mr. Baghel cautioned against such “unreasonable deadlines”.

“I believe the central government should take this matter seriously and instruct the state government to exercise caution. Innocent tribal people should not be harmed in the pursuit of overambitious plans to eradicate the Maoist within unreasonable deadlines,” he wrote.