India Naxal activities in Kerala have increased manifold: Govt

Naxal activities in Kerala have increased manifold: Govt
New Delhi: Activities of the Naxals in Kerala have increased manifold and situation in the state has the potential of becoming more serious if immediate preventive measures are not taken, according to a note prepared by the Home Ministry. In the 17-page note on CPI (Maoist), the Ministry said in recent times, the outfit is focusing on a southern theatre in the tri-junction of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
“The situation in Kerala has the potential of becoming more serious if immediate preventive measures are not taken,” the document prepared by the Left Wing Extremism division of the Ministry said. CPI (Maoist), in a change of strategy for the present, seems to be intent on consolidating its strength in select swathes of the country where, in their parlance, they were in a position of ‘strategic offensive’ against the state until recently. The note said the core of Maoist insurgency lies in 23 districts of India which reported 80 per cent of the total violent incidents in 2013.
The districts are: Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui, Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Bijapur, Bastar, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma (Chhattisgarh) Chatra, Giridhi, Gumla, Khunti, Latehar, Palamu, Simdega, West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Koraput and Malkangiri (Odisha). The Ministry said it feels that inspite of the apparent decline in Maoist violence since 2011, the core military strength of CPI(Maoist) still remains in these areas and other adjoining districts.
“Sustained anti-Maoist operations have not dented the capability of the CPI(Maoist) to inflict significant damage on the security forces and the civilians at the place and time of their choosing in these areas,” it said. The note said in the Northeast, some elements of CPI (Maoist) exist in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In all, the underground cadres of CPI (Maoist) exist in 15 states. “However, the front organisations of the CPI(Maoist) exist in 21 states and carry out overground agitational activities in an attempt to enlarge the mass-base of the party and prepare the state for armed insurrection,” it said.

Ministry of Home Affairs wants to fast track Maoist plan
New Delhi: The Union home ministry has decided to fast track the implementation of the NDA government’s new anti Naxal policy which calls upon state police forces to take the lead in anti Naxal operations on the lines of counter insurgency campaigns in states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura. As top officials of 10 Naxal-affected states met the home ministry top brass on Tuesday evening to discuss the new anti Naxal action plan, the Chhattisgarh government asked the Centre to devise a strategy to tackle front organisations of the Maoists and make it a part of the Centre’s new anti Naxal policy.
Chhattisgarh along with some other states also pitched the demand for increased air support to security forces involved in the anti Naxal operations. The logistical support provided to ferry security personnel and aid in the evacuation operations for the injured personnel was termed as critical to the overall efforts of the security forces to tackle the Naxal menace. It may be recalled that during the recent Naxal attack on CRPF men in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, the IAF copters could only evacuate the injured the day after the encounter took place.
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