Amit Shah chairs security review meet in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur

According to police data, more than 500 Naxalites have been killed in gunfights in Chhattisgarh since January 2024

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday chaired a high-level security review meeting in Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), weeks ahead of the Centre’s March 31 deadline to eliminate the Maoist insurgency from the country.

Amit Shah said a security-centric strategy, infrastructure push , and disruption of Maoist financial networks have yielded results in the fight against Left-Wing Extremism (X/AmitShah)

The meeting, held at a hotel in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, was attended by chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma. Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs were also present, officials said.

In a post on X, Shah said: “Today in Raipur, I held a review meeting with the Chhattisgarh government and officials on anti-Naxal operations. The security-centric strategy, infrastructure development, targeting of the Naxal financial network and the surrender policy have yielded positive results, and Naxalism will be completely eradicated before March 31”.

Directors General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) attended the meeting, along with the police chiefs of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Telangana, and other senior officers.

Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, comprising seven districts and sharing borders with Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, has long been considered a stronghold of Maoists. However, intensified anti-Naxal operations over the past few years have significantly weakened the insurgent movement.

Since January 2024, more than 500 Naxalites — including senior leaders such as CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju — have been killed in gunfights in Chhattisgarh.

During the same period, around 1,900 Naxalites were arrested and over 2,500 surrendered in the state.