Naxal violence major concern for State, Central Govts
Monday, March 5, 2007
New Delhi, March 5 (PTI): With 18 of the 22 districts in Jharkhand affected by Naxalite problem, violence by the ultras has become a major concern for both the State Government and the Centre.
Jharkhand has a history of naxalite attacks, the latest being the brutal killing of JMM MP Sunil Mahato at Jamshedpur yesterday. The recent killing of 14 policemen in a landmine explosion in Bokaro forced the Centre to rush a helicopter for immediate evacuation of the injured policemen and despatched a team of NSG to examine the blast site.
According to a security expert, naxal-affected Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh taken together witnessed more bomb blasts in 2006 than militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir.
Compared to 78 IED blasts in Jammu and Kashmir in 2006, a total of 91 explosions took place in the naxal-affected areas of the two states, said National Bomb Data Centre Director Colonel Lalit Kapoor.
He believes that the Left-wing extremists are in possession of as much as 19 tonnes of explosive materials.
Flexing their muscles in their strongholds, suspected ultras captured a passenger train after overpowering RPF guards and held it for over two hours in a forest close to Jharkhand-West Bengal border in December last year.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described naxalism as the greatest threat to internal security in the country. The Hindu
posted by Resistance 3/05/2007 10:25:00 PM,
