Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in some villages of Bijapur District, close to Chhattisgarh’s border with Telangana, allege a ‘drone attack’ by Security Forces (SFs) on the intervening night of April 14-15 and claim Army and Air Force involvement as well, reports The Times of India on April 23. However, Police have denied it and dubbed it ‘Maoist propaganda’. Villagers of Metagudam and Botetom in Pamed, a hilly area, have said that they heard deafening explosions that night. They collected some metal shards from the spot and say they were parts of bombs dropped from drones. The CPI-Maoist has issued three press releases in the week since, accusing SFs in Telangana and Chhattisgarh of resorting to “aerial attack on tribal villages”. A recent statement by Maoist ‘spokesperson’ Abhay says, “The central committee of CPI(Maoists) condemns the blitz carried out at Pamed guerrilla base area of south Bastar by Chhattisgarh police and security forces supported by Indian Army and Air Force officials on April 15 1am, targeting PLGA [People's Liberation Guerrilla Army] and local tribe.” Bastar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sundarraj P., rejected the allegations, calling it “Maoist propaganda to malign police’s image and to scare people”. “We deny the allegations levelled by CPI(Maoist) cadres against the security forces with regard to use of drones to strike their hideouts. It is part of the propaganda by Maoist leadership to mislead the local population with an unrealistic hope of regaining their lost ground in Dandakaranya. The reality is that due to their own inhumane and anti-development deeds, Naxals [Left Wing Extremists, LWEs] have become unpopular among the native population and are on the verge of extinction,” IGP, Sundarraj said.