Chhattisgarh plans massive anti-Maoist operation with 5 neighbouring states & Bengal

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh is planning one of the biggest anti-Maoist crackdowns ever, in collaboration with five neighbouring states — Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand — and Bengal, to tighten the noose around insurgents who strike in one state and escape to another.
Bengal, which doesn’t share a border with Chhattisgarh is also part of the operation as it shares common Maoist corridors, passing through Jharkhand and Odisha.
Chhattisgarh DGP DM Awasthi has had a virtual meet with his counterparts in these states and they all agreed to launch a joint mission, say sources. All seven states will collaborate for better policing against organized crime, especially trafficking of drugs and weapons.
IG-intelligence Anand Chhabra has been appointed nodal officer for the campaigns. Strategies will be charted out next so that dates can be decided for the crackdowns.
According to sources, the plan is to hit the Maoists in their hideouts to make them realise they have run out of safe havens. Maoists have traditionally exploited the common borders to escape police forces — when they are pursued in one state, they sneak into another. They also gather squads from other states for big attacks on security forces, making it more difficult for the police to track them down. A coordinated operation can close the net all around them, leaving them with no escape.