Another recent example is the attack on a 40-member team of security personnel near Risgaon in Dhamtri district on May 10, in which 14 people died. The team, which was on an anti-Naxalite operation, was led by a head constable and no senior officer was present. There was no coordination between the police of two districts though these forces from Kanker district entered the neighbouring Dhamtri. They were travelling in three vehicles on the narrow forest road, making them vulnerable to a landmine attack.

After a landmine explosion, the group had no alternate plan in place for survival and for many hours there was no reinforcement available. The security forces reached the spot almost 12 hours after the incident — in fact a local television crew reached before they did.

Instead of simply following the SOPs, a CRPF Commandant felt that the state should raise their own specialised anti-Naxalite force. “Given the scale of the problem and the wide area we have to cover, we need more battalions. What can 40 or 50 jawans do when confronted with 300 Maoist guerrillas?”