Bijapur records highest IED recoveries in India as Maoists shift to landmines

RAIPUR: Bastar's Bijapur district is not just a Maoist stronghold — it is India’s IED epicentre. Despite the armed Maoist formations shrinking and surrender figures rising, this south Bastar district accounts for the overwhelming bulk of improvised explosive devices being planted and recovered anywhere in the country.

The gunfire has reduced, but the ground itself remains weaponised.On Thursday, CRPF recovered an IED weighing about 30 kilograms, placed under a metal road on Awapalli - Basaguda route, only three kilometers from police station and powerful enough to blow up a Mine Protected Vehicle or a huge bus. Police said that it was a command IED buried about two feet deep, connected to a 100 meter long wire, to be triggered manually.

Though the CRPF bomb disposal team defused the IED during the demining exercise, the concern is as high as it was in past years.CRPF's official data for 2025 reveals a stark pattern: of the 716 IEDs detected during the demining procedures nationwide this year, 679 were recovered in Chhattisgarh and 652 of those in Bijapur alone. In the last quarter (October–December), 101 IEDs were seized across India; 92 found in Chhattisgarh, including 80 in Bijapur.

The state as a whole accounted for 679 recoveries — nearly 95% of the national total — underscoring how the Maoist conflict has morphed from gun battles to a buried war dominated by landmines.Security officials say no other district in the country comes close to such concentration. “This is the biggest challenge now. These are weapons you don’t see,” a senior CRPF officer posted in Bastar said. “Earlier they relied on armed confrontation.

That space has shrunk and IEDs have taken over as a primary weapon.”Nearly 90% of devices recovered are classified as victim-operated IEDs (VOIs) — triggered by pressure, pull, lift or tilt mechanisms. The person who activates it becomes the victim.Unlike command-detonated explosives, VOIs lie silently under forest tracks, culverts and newly constructed roads — particularly those linked to road-opening parties and camp supply routes.Deputy chief minister and home minister Vijay Sharma said that recent recoveries and incidents indicate fresh planting continues.Speaking to TOI, Bastar range inspector general of police P Sundarraj admitted the threat stating that Maoists heavily depend on IEDs to mark their presence and damage and there's a need to thoroughly demine the regions, despite that security forces continuously recover IEDs.Talking about immediate solution and advanced tech, Sundarraj said, "While we use deep metal detectors to recover IEDs, top officials are exploring the possibility of advanced technology called GPR- ground penetration radar, which senses the disturbance in the soil and adds value to demining activity.

The technology is used in select countries or on the borders. It needs to be tailor-made for Bastar's terrain and circumstances, since the Bastar region has a unique topography and dense jungle.Pointing out that police and central armed forces collectively have recovered more IEDs Sundarraj said, "IED recoveries have increased significantly in 2024 (308) and witnessed a major surge in 2025 (894), indicating strengthened ground intelligence, improved surveillance, and intensified area domination and search operations.He added that the sharp rise in recoveries suggests that a substantial number of potential IED attacks were neutralized before execution.A tactical shiftSecurity experts describe the surge in IED use as a major strategic shift by Maoist cadres pushed on the backfoot."Though the present situation shows that large armed groups can no longer move freely, expanded road networks, establishment of new security camps, drone surveillance and intensified operations have reduced what officials once called “security vacuums”.

Armed confrontations in big formations have become risky for them, hence, IEDs," the officer said.“For this, they don’t need a group to engage, just one buried device can stall a company.” The cadres have stopped moving in black uniforms and are not carrying weapons, they pose as villagers, labourers and farmers. Crude materials, devastating injuriesMost devices are locally assembled using gelatin sticks, urea, nails, kerosene oil and cordex wire, the materials easily sourced from mining zones.The impact is brutal. Security officials say IED blasts account for the maximum injuries among personnel leading to loss of limbs, severe shrapnel wounds, blindness. Even sniffer dogs deployed for detection have suffered injuries.“The moment there is a blast, half the unit shifts to casualty management. Evacuation becomes the priority. That itself slows anti-Naxal operations,” the CRPF official said.Union home minister Amit Shah in his recent visit to Chhattisgarh reiterated that March 31, 2026 as a target to eliminate residual armed Maoist presence. While surrender and arrest figures have increased and major formations have fragmented, the IED grid remains active.“Maoism may be on the brink in terms of open armed struggle,” an officer said. “But the buried war is still on.”Total blasts in India (2025): 41