The Naxal story: A shrinking red citadel, road to March 2026 deadline
Naxal commander Mandvi Hidma (50). On January 16, the People Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), led by Hidma, retaliated and the fight with the security personnel inside the camp lasted for four hours.
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As many as 450 rocket launchers were fired on the security camp which was being set up by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). «Had those shells exploded, the casualties among the security forces would have been in the hundreds as more than 250 soldiers were present inside the camp,» officials said. The attack was averted and less than a week later, Union home minister Amit Shah visited Raipur on January 21, 2024, for a security review following which he asked security forces to compile lessons learnt from the Dharmavaram attack.
The findings of the failed attack revealed that the rocket launcher fired in large numbers did not explode as the camp was located on the riverbed, the officials said. The range of the lightest rocket launcher was studied, and it was decided that the FOBs would be set up at a distance of 400 metres from the outer wall so that shells do not land inside the camps, said people familiar with the developments. So far, 290 FOBs have been established, of which 58 were made operational in 2024 and 88 proposed in 2025.
As the Centre declared its intention to end Naxalism by March 31, 2026, ET travelled to the Maoist strongholds of
