Chhattisgarh, March 24, 2025 — Following significant losses in their confrontations with security forces, Maoist insurgents in Chhattisgarh have shifted their approach, increasingly relying on remote-controlled explosive devices (IEDs) rather than direct gunfights. Sources from the security establishment revealed this change in strategy on Sunday.
According to intelligence reports, the rebels are now prioritizing pressure-cooker IEDs, many rigged with beer bottles, which can be remotely detonated. These devices, planted within dense forest areas, pose a significant threat to security personnel engaged in counter-insurgency operations.
“The Maoists are moving away from conventional gunfights and instead focusing on pressure-cooker, remote-controlled IEDs as a more effective means of targeting security forces,” an Intelligence Bureau official told The Telegraph. “Their tactics have shifted to evade direct conflict while still applying significant pressure on forces operating in the region.”
This new tactic comes as the Maoists, facing a robust anti-insurgency offensive, have also adopted the “foxhole technique.” Rebels dig holes in the ground, fill them with stones, and later conceal explosives in these pits, which are detonated at strategic moments to inflict maximum damage on the security forces.
In response to heightened threats, security agencies have issued alerts in both Chhattisgarh and neighboring Jharkhand. A series of explosive incidents and the discovery of weaponry, including a device incorporating beer bottles and a small antenna for remote detonation, have triggered heightened vigilance.
During the Maoists’ Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign, which intensifies during the summer months, insurgents typically employ traps in the dense forests to target security personnel. Recently, at least ten such booby traps were uncovered by the forces in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
On one occasion, a 5kg pressure-cooker IED was discovered in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. It had been hidden under a tree and was fitted with beer bottles to cause glass shard injuries to personnel. A small wire antenna was connected to the device, allowing for remote detonation. CRPF’s counter-IED team successfully defused the device after several hours of work. In another instance, a larger 50kg IED buried under a bridge in Bijapur was neutralized in January.
These remote-controlled IEDs are considered more deadly than pressure-triggered or command-detonated devices, as they can be remotely activated from a safe distance.
In recent months, such devices have led to several fatalities among security forces. Last January, a remote-controlled IED claimed the lives of eight security personnel and their driver in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, when their vehicle was targeted while returning from an operation. Another fatality occurred last week in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, where a CRPF sub-inspector was killed in a similar blast.
Security agencies report that in 2024, eight security personnel lost their lives in 78 IED blasts across Chhattisgarh.
In response to the growing insurgency, security forces have launched a series of intensified counter-Maoist operations across Chhattisgarh, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah pledging to eradicate Left-wing extremism by March 31, 2026. Recently, 30 Maoists and a security jawan were killed in fierce clashes in the Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, with the total death toll of Maoist rebels surpassing 100 since January 2025.
Amidst these operations, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being employed for surveillance, capturing real-time footage of Maoist-controlled zones. These aerial assets are crucial for planning military strikes and safeguarding troops against possible ambushes.
Security forces have made significant inroads into Maoist strongholds, particularly in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, setting up forward operating bases (FOBs) in regions once controlled by insurgents. As part of this area-domination strategy, 300 new bases and camps have been established, limiting Maoist mobility and facilitating targeted counter-insurgency actions.
Bastar, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Sukma, Dantewada, and Kondagaon remain the seven districts most affected by Maoist activity in Chhattisgarh.
The new strategy marks a shift in the ongoing battle between the Maoists and Indian security forces, with insurgents relying more on guerrilla tactics and explosives as their primary means of resistance. As security forces continue to push deeper into Maoist-held territory, the insurgents’ reliance on IEDs may only grow more pronounced in the coming months.
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