Raipur, May 28 (ANI): Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh today said anti-Naxal operations will be intensified with more security forces and modern weapons being provided by the Central Government to the affected regions.
“We will coordinate with Naxal-hit states adjoining Chhattisgarh and forces and modern weapons would be provided by the Centre for anti-Naxal operations,” he told mediapersons after holding a meeting of senior officials at the police headquarters here.
“We will not involve the army. There is no need to call the Army. Neither have we asked them. But we will send more (paramilitary) forces,” he said, when asked to comment on the role of the army to tackle the Naxal threat.
Singh further said a judicial inquiry has been set up to find out the error.
“Maoists on Tuesday claimed that the main target of their deadly May 25 attack on a convoy of Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar District was tribal leader Mahendra Karma.
In a four-page letter and an audio clipping sent to the media from an undisclosed location, the Maoists formerly accepted responsibility for the death of 28 people and over 30 injured in the attack. The letter carried the signature of a Maoist spokesperson from Dandakaranya.
As per the letter, a team of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) carried out the attack. It further states that senior Congress leaders Mahendra Karma, Nand Kumar Patel and V C Shukla were the main targets of the attack.
The Maoists claimed that the purpose of their attack was to “punish” Karma for launching the anti-Naxal armed Salwa Judum movement against them.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Chhattisgarh Nand Kumar Patel was targetted for giving a go ahead to Operation Green Hunt and letting paramilitary forces join anti-Naxal operations when he served as the state’s home minister, the rebels said in their letter.The Maoists, however, regretted the killing of some “innocent” Congress functionaries, but put the blame on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, the Congress and the BJP for their “anti-people policies”.
The Reds also hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP president Rajnath Singh and CM Raman Singh for choosing to stay mum “when innocent people were being killed by the state”.
The Maoists also made seven demands in the letter, calling for the withdrawal of paramilitary forces from Dandakaranya and an end to Operation Green Hunt.
They also sought the release of arrested Maoists and “innocent” tribals from prison unconditionally.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/anti-naxal-operations-will-be-intensified-sans-army-home-secretary/
