Several Maoist leaders are now moving towards the MMC corridor, which covers jungles in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, to escape the onslaught by the security forces in the “liberated zone” of Bastar, sources in the security establishment said.

The MMC corridor, which includes districts situated at the tri-junction of the three states, was created by Maoists in 2016 as a new front to provide a breather to their comrades in southern Chhattisgarh. They developed the MCC zone as an alternative to their forested headquarters, Abhujmad between Narayanpur and Dantewada districts of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region.

“The latest intelligence suggests the ongoing all-out offensive in Chhattisgarh has forced several Maoist leaders to move towards the MMC corridor as a tactical step to evade the ongoing crackdown,” a security official attached to the Union home ministry told The Telegraph.

“A high alert has been sounded across the three states following the intelligence report. Security forces are conducting area domination exercises to flush out rebels from the tri-junction, besides carrying out surveillance activities through drones inside the forest,” the security official said.

According to him, security forces of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are carrying out coordinated operations with the intelligence inputs from the Centre.

The MMC is headed by a central committee member of the CPI (Maoist), the official said.

The Abhujmad forest — spread over 3,900sq km in south Chhattisgarh and part of the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency — was earlier considered a liberated zone, but Maoists had made a comeback there. Security forces have been carrying out operations inside the forest and since January over 100 Maoists have been killed in the region.

Sources said security forces have opened seven camps in the MMC zone to intensify operations.

“With security forces making continuous inroads inside Abhujmad, the Maoist leaders are now facing an uphill task to regroup as their base area has shrunk considerably and fresh recruitment has almost dried up,” said an Intelligence Bureau official.