India, April 2 -- On Tuesday morning, in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, security force companies set out to patrol road stretches, the way they have always done.

Does this ground look freshly dug?

Has this bush been pressed down forcibly?

Was this rock here when we last surveyed this stretch?

These are the questions they ask, even as they, with the help of sniffer dogs and mine detectors, sweep the sides of roads. Typically, two teams work together, starting from points 10km apart, and covering 5km to the middle, where they meet. They do this every day, day after day.

And they have been doing so since the time the forces established camps in what was once the heart of the Red Corridor.

Tuesday was no exception. Later in the day, I...