50 Naxals Killed In 10 Days, Task To Eradicate Red Menace May End Sooner With Updated Strategy
Sources said a large area of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra will be the focus as the CRPF has already established 17 camps in various locations
Security forces in the Red Corridor of Chhattisgarh have eliminated 50 Naxals in the last 10 days. With an average of five Naxals every day, the forces are expecting to complete the task of eradicating Naxalism from the country much sooner.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Chhattisgarh visit on April 4 and 5 will be crucial where he will hold a review meeting and may also attend a local festival. According to sources, a detailed presentation with an updated strategy for targeting the Naxals’ core team will be discussed in the meeting.
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Sources have confirmed that more helicopters and drones are expected to be used to expedite the operation. Meanwhile, the challenge for the security forces will be to map nearly 4,000 square kilometres, which is the primary hideout of the Naxals.
Sources said a large area of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra will be the focus as the CRPF has already established 17 camps in various locations.
In addition to the 50 Naxals who surrendered on Sunday, security forces eliminated 17 Naxals on Saturday.
Earlier, on March 25, security forces killed three Naxals, including Sudhakar, a senior leader with a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head. Similarly, on March 20, two major encounters took place in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division, in which a total of 30 Naxalites were killed. The first encounter occurred on the Bijapur-Dantewada border, and the second on the Kanker-Narayanpur border. This year, security forces in the Bastar range have killed 101 Naxals, with 50 per cent of these encounters taking place in the past 10 days.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, due to the strict implementation of policies, incidents of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) violence, which had reached their highest level of 1,936 in 2010, have reduced to 374 in 2024, marking a reduction of 81 per cent. The total number of deaths (both civilian and security forces) has also decreased by 85 per cent during this period, from 1,005 deaths in 2010 to 150 in 2024.
Over the last 10 years, incidents of LWE violence, which were 1,091 in 2014, have decreased to 374 in 2024, a reduction of 65.7 per cent. The total number of deaths (both civilian and security forces) has also decreased by 52 per cent during this period, from 310 deaths in 2014 to 150 in 2024.
“There has also been a sharp decline in the number of districts affected by LWE. The number of LWE-affected districts has decreased from 126 to 90 by April 2018, further to 70 by July 2021, and then to 38 by April 2024," the ministry said in a response during the current parliamentary session.
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