Naxal hide-out unearthed near WB-Jharkhand border

The inter-state anti-Naxal operation, along the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, has led to the unearthing of administrative and military units of the Naxals.

The operation, which started on Tuesday evening, is a result of several months of planning, and is being lead by over 4,000 central forces including the Special Action Force of the Central Reserve Police Force, besides local police teams of the two states.

Official sources said the operation is concentrating on the forests of Chaibasa and plans to secure the porous border areas.

During the strike on Wednesday, the forces came across a training camp in the forests, besides cooked food and utensils for nearly 200 Naxals.

A large quantity of medicines, a well laid out water pipeline and Naxal literature for the camp was also recovered.

"The lay-out of the area shows that one part was being used for training and the other was for administration," a source said.

The forces, armed with modern assault rifles, GPS, satellite phones and assisted by helicopters for aerial survey, have been divided into various formations.

Sources said nearly 2,300 personnel of central forces are operating from West Bengal side whereas approximately 2,100 personnel are taking part in the joint operation from the Jharkhand side.

The operation in both states is being led by the state police forces, they said, adding that this is the first time that an operation of this kind has been undertaken.

While the Centre has already moved over 60,000 personnel to Naxal-hit states over the last few months, the operation till now was only intra-state.

The first state where the operation was initiated was Chhattisgarh, followed by Maharashtra. In Chhattisgarh, the anti-Naxal operation has been named 'Operation Greenhunt'.

As per the plan, all areas rescued from the clutches of the Naxals by the frontal formation of the combined forces will be taken over by smaller formations of the forces while the rest move ahead.

The Centre, along with the states, then plans to initiate development work in the captured areas.