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{{Short description|Maoist attack in India}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Sukma-Bijapur attack
| partof = the [[Naxalite-Maoist insurgency]]
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| date = 3 April 2021
| place = [[Sukma district]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[India]]
| territory =
| result =
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|South Asian Communist Banner.svg}} [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]]
| combatant2 = {{flag|India}}
| commander1 =
| commander2 =
| units1 =
| units2 = [[Central Reserve Police Force]]<br>[[Commando Battalion for Resolute Action]]<br>District Reserve Guard<br>[[Special Task Force (India)|Special Task Force]]
| strength1 = 250
| strength2 = Unknown
| casualties1 = 12-20 killed<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/up-to-20-maoists-killed-in-gunbattle-officials-101617577770857-amp.html|title=Drone shows tractor trolleys used to carry up to 20 dead Maoists: Officials|date=5 April 2021|publisher=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
| casualties2 = 22 killed<br>32 injured<ref name="A">{{cite news |title=Chhattisgarh Maoist attack: 22 jawans killed, 32 injured & 1 missing |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15-jawans-go-missing-after-encounter-with-naxals-in-chhattisgarhs-sukma/articleshow/81893573.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref>
| casualties3 =
| notes =
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Naxalite insurgency}}{{Campaignbox India terrorism}}
}}
The '''2021 Sukma-Bijapur attack''' was an ambush carried out by the [[Naxalite-Maoist insurgency|Naxalite-Maoist insurgents]] from the [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]] against Indian security forces on 3 April 2021 at Sukma-Bijapur border near Jonaguda village which falls under Jagargunda police station area in [[Sukma district]] of [[Chhattisgarh]], leading to the killing of 22 security personnel<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mallick |first1=Avdhesh |title=Chhattisgarh: 22 jawans killed in Bijapur Naxal attack |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/chhattisgarh-22-jawans-killed-in-bijapur-naxal-attack |publisher=[[The Free Press Journal]] |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref> and 9 [[Naxalite]]s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Naxal Encounter: Backup team arrived with dead bodies of 17 martyred soldiers |url=https://zeenews.india.com/video/india/naxal-encounter-backup-team-arrived-with-dead-bodies-of-17-martyred-soldiers-2352587.html |publisher=[[Zee News]] |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=April 6, 2021|first=Rashmi|last=Drolia|title=Chhattisgarh Maoist ambush: Viral audioclips recount valour of troops, wait for help|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/chhattisgarh-maoist-ambush-viral-audioclips-recount-valour-of-troops-wait-for-help/articleshow/81937516.cms|access-date=2021-04-07|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The death toll was the worst for Indian security forces fighting the Naxalites since [[2017 Sukma attack|2017]].<ref name="AJ">{{cite news |title=Indian security personnel killed after ambush by Maoists |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/4/indian-forces-killed-gunbattle-with-maoist-rebels? |work=Al Jazeera |date=4 Apr 2021}}</ref>

On 2 April 2021, separate joint teams of security forces launched a major anti-Maoist operation from [[Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh|Bijapur]] and [[Sukma district]] in the [[South Bastar]] forests.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chhattisgarh: 17 More Bodies Found, Toll of Jawans Killed in Gun Battle With Maoists up to 22 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/15-jawans-go-missing-after-encounter-with-naxals-in-chhattisgarhs-sukma/articleshow/81893573.cms |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref>

== Background ==
On 23 March 2021, five District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel were killed and 13 others injured when [[Maoists]] blew up a bus carrying the security personnel with an [[Improvised explosive device]] in [[Narayanpur district]] of [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Five policemen killed, 13 injured in Naxal attack on bus in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/five-policemen-killed-13-injured-in-naxal-attack-on-bus-in-chhattisgarhs-narayanpur-9456101.html |publisher=[[Firstpost]] |date=March 24, 2021}}</ref> The Maoists' group was aided by insurgents associated with the Maoist platoons of Pamed, Konta, Jagargunda, and Basaguda area committees with them nearly 250 in strength.<ref name=India/>

Security forces had launched an operation after the presence of wanted Maoist leader Hidma in the area. Hidma, a tribal from Puvarti village of Sukma district, who heads the [[People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (India)|People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army]]’s (PLGA) battalion number 1 is known for deadly ambushes.<ref name=India>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chhattisgarh-encounter-who-is-maoist-leader-hidma-man-behind-the-ambush-of-22-soldiers-1787040-2021-04-04|title=Chhattisgarh encounter: Who is Maoist leader Hidma, man behind the ambush of 22 soldiers?}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/operation-aimed-at-hidma-but-he-is-a-bundle-of-photographs/articleshow/81904357.cms|title=Maoist threat: Operation aimed at Hidma, but he is a 'bundle of photographs'|website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> He joined hands with the rebels in the 1990s and leads around 180 to 250 Maoist fighters, including women. He is a member of the Maoists Dandakaranya Special Zonal committee (DKSZ) and he's also the youngest member of the CPI (Maoists) supreme 21-membered ‘central committee.’ He carries a reward of {{INRConvert|45|l|lk=on}}. A charge sheet has been filed against Hidma in the 2019 BJP MLA [[Bhima Mandavi]] murder case by the NIA. Hidma is accused in at least 26 attacks, including the [[2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley|2013 Jhiram Ghati massacre]] of frontline Congress leaders and [[2017 Sukma attack|Burkapal ambush of April 2017]] in which 24 CRPF personnel were killed.<ref name=India/>

== Attack ==
On 3 April 2021, the security personnel belonging to the [[Central Reserve Police Force]]’s elite [[Commando Battalion for Resolute Action|CoBRA unit]], the District Reserve Guard, and the [[Special Task Force (India)|Special Task Force]] were ambushed in the tribal-dominated central Indian state of Chhattisgarh during an anti-insurgency operation.<ref name="AJ"/> The fighting ensued when Indian security forces, acting on [[military intelligence]], raided a rebel hideout in a densely forested area of [[Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh|Bijapur district]].<ref>{{cite news |title=India recovers bodies of 20 more troops after Maoist clashes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/india-recovers-bodies-of-20-more-troops-after-maoist-clashes/2021/04/04/883ad5d0-9541-11eb-8f0a-3384cf4fb399_story.html |work=Washington Post |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref>

At least 22 Indian security personnel were killed and 30 injured in the ambush by Maoist rebels that lasted for four hours in the border [[Sukma district]], 540km (340 miles) south of state-capital [[Raipur]].<ref name="AJ"/> The insurgents, who had also suffered casualties, had managed to seize the dead soldiers’ weapons.<ref>{{cite news |title=Maoist Insurgents Kill 23 Indian Forces in Ambush, Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/04/world/asia/india-maoist-insurgents-ambush.html |work=The New York Times |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref> Later, a combing operation to locate one missing soldier was conducted.<ref name="AJ"//> According to [[Bhupesh Baghel]], chief minister of Chattisgarh, the gun battle in the state's [[Bastar division]] saw the use of "bullets, grenades and rocket launchers" from both sides.<ref>{{cite news |title=At least 22 Indian security personnel killed in clash with Maoist insurgents |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/05/india/india-clash-maoist-insurgents-intl-hnk/index.html |work=CNN |date=April 6, 2021}}</ref>

Uddipan Mukherjee, a joint director for the government owned Ordnance Factory Board, said the pandemic had allowed the rebels to recruit more members.<ref>{{cite news |title=India grapples with rising Maoist violence, fuelled by pandemic |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-grapples-with-rising-maoist-violence-fuelled-by-pandemic-101617616227893.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=April 5, 2021}}</ref>
Mukherjee has been tracking war strategy of the Maoists for over a decade.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uddipan Mukherjee, PhD, is Joint Director, Government of India, Ministry of Defence at Ordnance Factory Board. |url=https://idsa.in/taxonomy/term/1204 |work=MPIDSA |date=December 28, 2010}}</ref> His thesis was agreed upon by others who had access to direct knowledge of the situation.<ref>{{cite news |title=India steps up anti-Maoist operations after 22 policemen killed |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/6/india-steps-up-anti-maoist-operations-after-22-policemen-killed |work=ALJAZEERA |date=April 6, 2021}}</ref>

== Reactions ==
===Domestic===
[[Ram Nath Kovind]], the [[President of India]] expressed deep anguish over the martyrdom of security personnel. Prime minister [[Narendra Modi]] and CM of Chhattisgarh [[Bhupesh Baghel]] condemned the incident.<ref name="A"/> The Union Home Minister [[Amit Shah]] said, "Befitting reply to Chattisgarh Naxal attack will be given at appropriate time."<ref>{{cite news |title=Befitting reply to Chattisgarh Naxal attack will be given at appropriate time: Union Home Minister Amit Shah |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/apr/04/befitting-reply-to-chattisgarh-naxal-attack-will-be-given-at-appropriate-time-union-home-minister-a-2285697.html |publisher=[[New Indian Express]] |date=April 4, 2021}}</ref>

===International===
[[Foreign Ministry of Turkey]] condemns the attack and "sends consolidates to those soldiers who were martyred in 'heinous' attack by terrorists".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.india.com/news/agencies/turkey-condemns-sukma-naxal-attack-2068174/|title= Turkey condemns Sukma-Bijapur Naxal attack|publisher=india.com}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada]]
* [[2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley]]
* [[2017 Sukma attack]]
* [[2018 Sukma attack]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Naxalite-Maoist insurgency}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukma-Bijapur attack, 2021}}

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[[Category:2021 mass shootings]]
[[Category:2020s crimes in India]]
[[Category:2020s mass shootings in Asia]]
[[Category:21st century in Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:21st-century mass murder in India]]
[[Category:April 2021 crimes in Asia]]
[[Category:Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Maoist)]]
[[Category:Explosions in 2021]]
[[Category:Explosions in India]]
[[Category:Grenade attacks]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2021]]
[[Category:Mass shootings in India]]
[[Category:Murder in Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:Naxalite–Maoist insurgency]]
[[Category:Sukma district|2021 Bijapur attack]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2021]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Chhattisgarh]]

2021 Sukma Bijapur attack - Revision history

MetaBOT at 20:38, 8 July 2023