Senior Maoist commander Papa Rao, front center, member of the Dandakaranaya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) and in-charge of the Maoist sub-zonal office south, and members of his team hold copies of the Indian Constitution after the surrender in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, March 25, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI
From tracking the movement of security teams on patrol using satellite navigation devices and ensuring communication through satellite phones to opening new security camps in the so-called liberated zones in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division, the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) followed a clear strategy to declare the 42,000 sq km area as “Maoist-free, Home Union” by March 24, August 3. 2024.
The number of districts affected by left-wing extremism, often referred to as the red corridor, shrank in 2014 from 126 districts across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to just two districts — (2,206) — in Bijahattis and Shuktid. In 2005, the number of affected districts was around 230. A number of districts were reorganized in the following years.
Bihar, Maharashtra (except one district), Jharkhand and Odisha have been declared free of Maoist activities before 2024, Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha on March 30. Bastar was one of the regions most affected by left-wing extremism.
The minister said the number of police stations in the country recording Maoist incidents has come down to 60 in 2026 from 350 in 2014. According to the Home Ministry’s annual report for 2005–06, the number of such police stations was 460 in 2005.
Sundarraj P., Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, told The Hindu that as new security camps were opened in Bastar, Maoist influence was waning. “The movement of each patrol team was tracked using GPS devices. Satellite phones were used to solve connectivity issues in the interior. If the team came under fire, reinforcements were sent from the nearest camp. The change in strategy helped reduce casualties, unlike earlier when teams patrolled for two or three days; it was like shooting in the dark,” said the officer.
The home minister said that 406 new Central Armed Forces (CAPF) camps and 68 helipads for night landings have been constructed in areas affected by left-wing extremism in the last six years. As many as 400 bulletproof and anti-bullet vehicles have been provided to the jawans.
Data shows that in Bastar alone, out of 432 security camps established since 2001, 168 were established between 2001 and 2014, while 264 camps were established between 2015 and 2026. Bijapur and Sukma, the only two districts that have some presence of Maoist activity, account for 50% of the total number of camps.
According to the Bastar Police Action and Outcome Report, security camps are no longer limited to troop deployments, but function as integrated development centers that help extend governance, social systems and basic services to previously inaccessible villages. The expansion of these camps is described as essential to restoring territorial control and public confidence.
Mr. Sundarraj said that though the area was almost cleared of Maoist presence, except for seven or eight cadres, the challenge posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) remained. “We will take some time to de-mine these areas and declare them as pure IEDs which may have been planted by the Maoists before they left their camps or surrendered,” Mr Sundarraj said.
According to the Ministry of Interior, there have been 1,754 attacks on “economic infrastructure” such as roads, telecommunications networks, schools and other infrastructure since 2010 to isolate the population from the mainstream and prevent the government from reaching them.
While 1,141 attacks on economic infrastructure were reported between 2010 and 2014, up to 613 such attacks were reported between 2015 and 2025.
Mr Sundarraj said incidents of Maoists damaging infrastructure had reduced significantly, with only two cases of damage to mobile phone towers reported in 2025.
Published – 31 March 2026 22:23 IST
