Over 3K dead in Maoist violence in 9 years: MHA

Over 3,700 people were killed in Maoist violence in 10 states, the highest in Chhattisgarh, in the last nine years, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in its annual report.

In its report for 2018-19, the ministry said the Communist Party of Inida (Maoist) continues to be the most potent among various Left Wing Extremist outfits in the country and responsible for more than 88% of the total violent incidents and resultant deaths. “Amidst increasing reverses, the CPI (Maoist) has been making efforts to expand to new areas along the inter-state borders without any significant success,” the report said.

As many as 3,749 people lost their lives in 10,660 incidents of violence in 10 states since 2010, the report said.

The highest number of casualties due to the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) took place in Chhattisgarh where 1,370 people were killed in 3,769 violent incidents perpetrated by the Maoists between 2010 and 2018.

The 10 Naxal-hit states are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, MP and UP.

On Monday, three suspected Maoists, including a woman, were killed near Attapady in Palakkad district during combing operations, police said.

A top police official said personnel of the Thunderbolt squad retaliated when shots were fired at them. “The patrolling team was combing the deep forest area in Palakkad district. It was then the Maoists fired at them. As per preliminary reports, three including a woman were killed in the operation,” the official said.