Naxals this year are more aggressive as this is the second attack in Gadchiroli district after C-60 commandos killed 40 naxals, including Sainath, last year
New Delhi: It seems naxals are regaining lost ground in Maharashtra as the government has shifted focus to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. After Maharashtra Police's special unit C-60 killed naxals including, commander Sainath, the Maoists have killed 3 civilians and 16 C-60 jawans this year.
The graph of security forces personnel killed in naxal attacks, which had dipped last year after the rise of naxals incidents since 2015, has seen a five-fold (highest in since 2015) rise this year. Top sources claim that the Union government may again add the district that was removed in 2018 after the recent attack on security forces in Gadchiroli.
In 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (till June) naxals had killed two, three, three again and no security force jawan. But this year, naxals have so far killed 15 C-60 commandos (and their driver) in the worst ever attack of naxals in Maharashtra.
Naxals this year are more aggressive as this is the second attack in Gadchiroli district after C-60 commandos killed 40 naxals, including Sainath, last year.
This year in January, naxals shot dead three villagers in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on the suspicion that their tip-off to the police led to the killing of 40 ultras in a massive operation in the region last year. Maoists entered from Chhattisgarh and went to the houses.
Police officials also claim that, this time, the government may have to add the district that was removed in 2018 from the list of naxal-affected districts in Maharashtra.They Maoists are continuously planning to disturb the law-and-order situation in Maharashtra's red zone area. In 2017, Maharashtra had four districts where naxals were active. They were Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia and Aheri but in 2018, the Union government removed Aheri and said that naxals are active in three districts -- Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia.
Naxals after last year's encounter where 40 naxals were eliminated by the C-60 unit, also destroying government infrastructural work as the state has seen massive work.
According to the data, till 2018, 65 moblie towers have been installed in Maharashtra and 136 are now planned in Phase-II at an outlay of ? 7330 crore. For financial inclusion in LWE areas, Department of Posts sanctioned 142 post offices in Maharashtra in Phase-I and all 142 have become functional. Further, Department of Financial Services has opened 9 bank branches and 32 ATMs in Maharashtra's naxals affected areas.
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