Sainath (Chaitu), another Maoist, surrenders in Chhattisgarh

On Friday Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the 60^th All-India Conference of DGPs/IGPs in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. The theme was the security dimensions of viksit bharat or developed India. Even as the deliberations were proceeding, in another, somewhat quiet ceremony, a senior Maoist commander called it a day on Friday and handed over his weapons to police authorities in Jagdalpur, the gateway to the Bastar region. For all practical purposes a virtuous cycle of peace and security has set in this region that was until recently in the grip of a vicious insurgency.

With the surrender of Sainath, also known as Chaitu, a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), guns will fall silent in a vast swath of territory that began just outside Jagdalpur and extending up to Katekalyan sub-division of Dantewada district on one side and all the way to Bhairamgarh area, touching the border of Bijapur district. Sainath’s writ, which he enforced ruthlessly, extended across this vast region. In all 10 Maoist commanders surrendered before Sunderraj P, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the Bastar Range. Collectively, these Maoists had rewards up to Rs65 lakh against their names.

While technically Sainath is a middle ranking member of the Maoist command structure, it was commanders like him who ensured insurgent control over vast regions of South Bastar. This made him a lynchpin of the “Maoist system.” This patchwork of commanders who had intimate knowledge of their area and a vice-like grip over it made it very hard for the government to regain control over these far-flung regions.

It is interesting to note that Sainath surrendered to Chhattisgarh police and gave his weapon to the police authorities in Jagdalpur. He did not surrender to the Telangana police, the choice option for Maoist commanders, many of whom hail from that state. It was the peculiar location of his area of operations, in the heart of South Bastar and fact that Chhattisgarh police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have cast a security net that makes it almost impossible for Maoists to slip away into Telangana territory, that made Sainath’s escape impossible.

But above all, it is the sudden collapse of the Maoist insurgency, one that began with a series of encounters last year across the Bastar region, that ended in snapping the sinews of command and control in the insurgent group. Like any organisation with a division of labour, the Maoists allotted different tasks, ranging from their militia and armed squads, the people tasked with extorting money, the task of strategizing and the system of command and control, to a vast number of cadres. Over the past year, a multi-pronged assault on all these wings became possible as government forces regained an upper hand by slow and incremental and often painful wresting away of regions under Maoist control. A tipping point of sorts was reached in mid-May when the top leadership of the Maoist party was eliminated. Over the past six months, the Maoist system has frayed very badly, making even the survival of senior commanders like Sainath a very difficult proposition.

Sainath, who is in his early sixties, is well-known for his command over Marxist ideology as much as guerilla tactics. Someone as astute as him realised that time was up, for the “movement” and that it was rational to give it up now instead of pursuing matters to a bitter end. His surrender is perhaps one of the biggest successes of Bastar police. The area under his “command” will now truly be free.