The abduction of over 250 villagers by Maoists in Chhatisgarh’s Sukam District before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit has once again raised questions on the internal security issues. Wasn’t there some security lapse which aided the abduction? Though Maoists have not raised any demand for ransom but one villager lost life. The abduction, it is believed, was in objection to a bridge being built on a river near Marenga village. They apprehend that coming of the bridge would improve mobility of security agencies during the counter insurgency operations in the area. The villagers were taken hostage from the site of the bridge construction with most of the security men redeployed for the Prime Minister’s rally in Dantewada. The Maoists took advantage of the weak security to carry out their operation. The whole episode was not spontaneous as the Maoists had called for a Bandh a day ahead of Modi’s visit. They had resorted to violence damaging rail track and removing fishplates at many places in Bastar District. So, the message was clear that the Maoists will embark on some nefarious activity to gain attention ahead of PM’s visit under such a situation. Weakening of security only added to the situation helping Maoists to carry out this large abduction. Earlier also Maoists had taken away people working at construction site in Bastar area, kept them in forests for few days to make them ‘aware’ about their ideology and told them not to extend cooperation to government agencies in the area. Though PM Modi has asked them to shun gun culture and adopt plough to improve agriculture output and join mainstream to push development in the region but very few are there to take Modi bait of progress. Deprived of basic development and facing abject poverty in the mineral rich region of the country fear had become constant part of the villagers life and Maoists ruled the roost in the area for quite a longtime and any development Govt sings would surely create resistance as the progress will open the region to external flow of population which they fear would deprive this ethnic population of their existence. This fear has been the root cause of violence which Union Government has been looking at a different angle which is to be corrected as early as possible to thwart such large scale abductions in future.
