Chidambaram claims drop in Naxal activity, lauds police role in Gadchiroli

Claiming there was a marked decline in Maoist activities in 2010, home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday cautioned security forces against complacency and insisted that Naxalites still retained the capacity to carry out “attacks at places of their choice and at the time of their choice”.  

“Until we are able to get the better of Maoists, the situation will remain one of concern,” he said after returning to Nagpur from his visit to the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district where he held a long review meeting with senior officials of the police department, paramilitary forces, and the district administration. State home minister RR Patil and his deputy Satej Patil were also present there.  

With developmental activities on one hand and security forces containing Maoists on the other, he expected 2011 to be “an even better year”.  

This was Chidambaram’s first visit to review the field situation in a Maoist-affected area. It is not clear why he chose Gadchiroli of the 35 identified most extremist-affected districts but sources said the district is strategically important for the forces to contain Maoists in their stronghold of Abujh-Marh and Bastar in the neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

While details of his review meeting were not available, the home minister is learnt to have assessed the joint operations, almost a year after the Centre launched Operation Green Hunt. The Centre has deployed Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops as force multiplier of the state forces in the district. He later flew in to the sensitive Murumgaon and Dhanora police outposts where he spent time with security troops. In Nagpur, he called on the seven policemen recuperating at a private hospital from their injuries sustained in a recent blast triggered by Maoists in south Gadchiroli. “We know their strengths; we know their leaders,” he said, exuding confidence that they would rise to the challenges.  

He, however, acknowledged the difficulties in taking up developmental activities in the district. “Not many civilians like to be posted there; it’s a predominantly tribal district with 80% forests,” he said. “They live in fear because the Maoists pick up civilians suspecting them as police informers and kill them in cold blood.”    

The Centre has given an ex-gratia of Rs55 crore, he said, of which Rs25 crore would be spent on development works until March 2011 and the remaining would be released the next year. He congratulated the state police for apprehending two naxalites on Monday and two on Tuesday. “There are more people who have to be apprehended,” he said.  

Meanwhile, armed Maoists on Monday night killed a civilian, Govardhan Shedmake, 32, in Bhimapur village of Dhanora tehsil, on suspicion of being a police informer.