The death of eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and the driver of their vehicle in the January 6 IED (improvised explosive device) blast triggered by Maoists in Bijapur district of south Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region is the first serious death as security forces battle left-wing extremism in the state have suffered for almost two years.
The last major setback was in April 2023 when an IED blast in Dantewada district killed 10 security personnel and their driver. Otherwise, Chhattisgarh has achieved tremendous success against Maoists throughout last year, especially at ground zero Bastar, through a no-holds-barred strategy, which implemented a comprehensive security cover and technical operations.
As an inquiry compiles the circumstances surrounding the January 6 security breach, the focus remains on the adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) by security forces operating in Maoist strongholds. Preliminary investigations indicate that 50-60 kilograms of explosives had been planted on the ill-fated Kutru-Bendre road, and at least five feet below the ground. Also, the IED appears to have been embedded in 2019-20 when the road was built.
The intensity of the explosion was so strong that the concrete road was extensively damaged and the DRG SUV was reduced to a mangled mass of metal. Some of the vehicle’s parts had been thrown into the air and landed on sal trees nearby. Investigations indicate that the IED was detonated behind a tree line about 250 meters from the road.
The DRG team was returning from nearby Narayanpur district after an operation in which five Maoists and a security man were killed. The SUV that took the brunt of the IED blast was the seventh in a convoy of 14 vehicles and 30 motorcycles. The next vehicle was only 100 meters behind. The convoy was heading towards Dantewada after a three-day operation in Narayanpur.
Police officials said a road opening party was deployed in the blast area as SOP, but it failed to spot the hiding Maoists. About 250 meters of the wire used to set off the IED was recovered. The point where the IED was planted is an old culvert. As it was the meeting point of the bitumen and concrete sections of the road, it had a depression.
The investigation suggests that the DRG vehicles had slowed down at the culvert to approach the road bump, which probably gave an advantage to the waiting Maoists.
Safety SOPs when driving in Maoist areas include moving at high speeds to minimize the risk of vehicle firing and blasts. Road culverts are considered classic locations for planting IEDs. The driver of the seventh DRG vehicle had slowed down to avoid the impact, leaving the occupants more vulnerable, the probe suggests.
Police sources said that although Maoists, cornered in Chhattisgarh, were expected to fight back, the intelligence agencies had no word that a massive IED attack was being planned.
Last year, security forces achieved an unprecedented breakthrough in operations against Maoists in Bastar. Around 214 Maoists were eliminated – the highest in the state’s 24-year history. In comparison, only 20 Maoists were killed in 2023. What has fueled the operations is the noticeable weakening of the Maoist movement and pressure from the Union Home Ministry’s March 2026 deadline to end decades-old left-wing extremism.
With just over a year to go, the January 6 attack is a setback that may require a recalibration of strategy—if not so much to devise new operational plans as to reinforce established SOPs to avoid major attacks and casualties.
