War of dominance among cops, naxals continues in AOB

VISAKHAPATNAM: Even after seven years, the terror of Balimela ambush continues to haunt the cops. As many as 37 security personnel had met with a watery grave after Maoists opened fire on a launch carrying them in Sileru river. They were returning after a strenuous combing operations in the forest area abutting AP-Odisha border. After Balimela ambush on July 29, 2008, the police did not venture into the river fearing a Maoist ambush.
The Maoists, however, could not gain much after the incident. They had faced many ups and downs in the last seven years. Now they are slowly re-establishing themselves in the AOB. They had failed to penetrate into people to revive their frontal organisations. The police too did not learn lessons from the incident. Once again the war of dominance in Andhra Orissa Border (AOB) had started between cops and red guerillas with new strategies, new formations and new faces on both sides.
According to analysts, the Maoists central committee had focused on Chhattisgarh rather than on the AOB. They had planned to transform Chhattisgarh into a ‘liberated state’. The Maoists have concentrated on Chhattisgarh after they suffered heavy losses in the AOB. Even Manyam Pituri Sena, an armed militia network, but could not make inroads.
The Maoists also received a setback after they killed some innocent tribals dubbing them as informants. Militia members killed three villagers. They also attacked a priest at Gudalamveedhi. The priest Gemmeli Sanjeeva Rao has a large following in the area. This had turned counterproductive for the naxals.
The police managed to reach to the villagers in interior areas where they took up community policing. The police could win over the local youths and succeeded in weaning them away from the Maoist influence. This had led to shortage of cadre for the Maoists.