This child soldier was killed in an anti-Maoist operation in Bastar. She was not the only one

Deep inside the forests of Bastar in southern Chhattisgarh, Maoist insurgents drawn from local Adivasi communities have been locked in a low-intensity war with the Indian state for nearly four decades. This year, Chhattisgarh police claim to have made a major breakthrough in the conflict, killing 153 Maoists in nearly 40 encounters, higher than any annual tally seen in the past, barring 2009.

This series brings you the stories behind those numbers by travelling to the sites where the encounters took place and speaking to the families of 37 of those killed.

After a gruelling two-hour-long bike ride through the forests, crossing two hills and wading through three rivulets, we finally caught a glimpse of our destination: the village of Battekal, a collection of mud houses with thatched roofs scattered across a valley.

We had travelled to the village in Narayanpur district’s Orchha tehsil, to meet the family of 16-year-old Baijnath Padda. He was one of the 29 Maoists killed on April 16 in what Chhattisgarh police had described as “the biggest strike” against the insurgents.

His house appeared dilapidated and unkempt – a rare sight for Adivasi homes. An old woman sat in a corner staring blankly, while a young woman flitted in and out, with two children...

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