On January 16, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh in Bijapur district, a fierce and highly successful combined encirclement and annihilation operation was launched by combatants of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army and thousands of local masses against the Dharmavaram camp of the Central Police Reserve Force. A total of at least 35 members of the reactionary paramilitary forces were eliminated and over 40 others seriously injured in the attack that lasted for several hours.

In a purported statement of the Central Regional Office of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) circulating in the media of the Indian big bourgeoisie, the spokesperson of the Central Regional Office states that the attack on the Central Police Reserve Force camp is a befitting response to the recent operation "Kagaar-Surya Shakti'" launched by the Hindu fascists to wipe out the Maoist movement and attack Adivasis. The spokesman further explained that in the three-hour long raid involving thousands of revolutionary masses, the entire area around the police camp was first captured by the revolutionary guerrillas, after which the enemy camp was encircled. At the same time, all the surrounding roads were blocked by local masses with big tree trunks, while the militias extensively planted landmines to prevent approaching reinforcements of the old Indian state from rushing to the aid of the surrounded police camp, the spokesman added.

When the encirclement of the enemy camp was completed, the fighters of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) fired over 600 grenade launchers, rapid-fire weapons and other grenades at the enemy camp during the entire operation, which led to the 35 deaths and over 40 seriously injured on the side of the enemies of the revolution.

Following the operation, both the central and state governments and police forces imposed censorship on the attack and imposed a wide cordon around the battle area to prevent journalists from reporting on the casualty figures on the side of the reactionary Indian state forces. The spokesman of the central regional office of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) further said that thousands of police personnel of the Bastar Division had been moved to Narayanpur district earlier to set up base camps from where the police forces were going to take up arms against the people's war in the region and that the present blackout on the major revolutionary attack was aimed at sparing the morale of the new reactionary arrivals in the area. Another reason for the censorship, according to the spokesperson, is the fear of the newly-elected BJP government in Chhattisgarh coming under pressure from the opposition parties for its lack of success in fighting the people's war.

At this point we can repeat what we wrote a week ago: "the redeployment of troops is not an indication of the strength of the old Indian state or any great successes in the fight against the invincible people's war in India, but rather an expression that the old Indian state has come under so much pressure that it sees it as necessary to make large troop redeployments to turn the war in its favor." 

The great encirclement and annihilation operation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) with such a large mass participation shows the vitality of the people's war in India, regardless of what propaganda the enemies of the people's war trumpet to the world.

Cover picture shows grenade launchers left behind: https://telanganatoday.com/35-security-personnel-killed-in-attack-on-crpf-camp-in-chhattisgarh-on-jan-16-maoists