Captain Arjun Tripathi was standing in the dense forest looking at the horizon.
The dense forests of Odisha and Chhattisgarh were notorious for being a stronghold of Naxalite insurgents,a place where law and order had no foot hold.
Captain Arjun Tripathi had faced several perilous operations.But that day he would require both his skill and his unwavering resolve.He had to neutralize the high ranking Naxalite leader Bagha,who had been orchestrating violent attacks on nearby villages,burning their houses,killing innocents and thereby orphaning many children.Ambushing government convoyage was a regular affairs there.
He had been briefed about Bagha’s ruthless reputation.Bagha was intelligent,elusive and a master of the forest terrain.The man acted as a ghost,moving subtly through the under bush, and vanishing like smoke.But Arjun was no stranger to guerrilla warfare.
It was early morning.A thick mist was clinging to the ground. On Arjun’s instruction the team moved silently through the forest.The dense canopy above provided minimal light.The atmosphere was suffocating.The rustle of the leaves under their shoes sounded amplified in the stillness.They were proceeding towards the den of non other than Bagha.
Captain Arjun and his team were heading towards the hideouts of the Naxals,located with precision by modern machinary.They were pretty sure of the counter attack and how deadly they would be. But a soldier never fears. Arjun,who was born in a small town,whose father was a retired army man,since childhood his father had taught him about discipline,courage and love for the motherland.He was fearless and his team had full faith in him.
As they reached their destination,Captain asked them to take position.They had surrounded the area and were ready with their rifles. They waited patiently for the order from the Captain to start firing.Arjun gave the signal and the team sprang into action.
The captain took position with his rifle behind the trunk of a large sal tree.He waited for the glimpse of the leader.Firing was going from both sides.Arjun finally caught sight of the silhouette of Bagha as he emerged from the trees.With a single decisive move, Captain Arjun aimed and fired a well spaced shot that struck Bagha at the leg.He fell down to the ground.He tried to crawl towards cover, but Arjun was quick.He moved towards the terrorist.He disarmed the leader,who was in the attempt of harming him.Captain Arjun was successful in capturing him alive.By that time some of his men from the team had arrived there.
The Captain looked at the mud and blood splashed faces of his special team of soldiers.But their eyes were shining with pride.The mission was successful.
An elite officer like Captain Arjun could bring down a Naxalite leader in a covert military operation.
“Boys”,he addressed his team.”This battle has been won, but there is still a war to fight.In a week we are supposed to move to Madhya Pradesh.We are required to destroy the Naxalite fort there.”