January 8, 2025: Eight people, including five former Maoists who had joined the police force, were killed in a powerful IED blast orchestrated by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday. The incident marks the deadliest attack on security forces in the state in two years.

The victims included four personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), three from the Bastar Fighters unit, and a civilian driver. The blast targeted a convoy of security personnel near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station area, a stronghold of left-wing extremism.

Among the deceased were Head Constable Budhram Korsa and constables Dumma Markam, Pandaru Ram, Baman Sodhi, and Somdu Vetti. Notably, all five had surrendered as Maoists before joining the police force, according to Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P.

Korsa and Sodhi were natives of Bijapur district, while the other three hailed from neighboring Dantewada district. Last year, over 790 Maoists had surrendered in the Bastar region, a hotbed of left-wing extremism.

The DRG, often referred to as the “sons of the soil,” is a specialized anti-Naxal force comprising local youth and reformed Maoists. It operates across the Bastar region, which spans seven districts and covers around 40,000 square kilometers. The Bastar Fighters unit, established in 2022, is another key police initiative involving local recruits familiar with the region’s language, culture, and terrain.

Monday’s attack highlights the ongoing challenges in combating left-wing extremism in the region, despite significant efforts by the state to rehabilitate former Maoists and strengthen its security apparatus. The government has intensified its efforts to recruit locals into the DRG and Bastar Fighters, both critical in the fight against insurgency.

Authorities have launched a massive search operation in the area to track down the perpetrators.