RANCHI: Chief Minister Hemant Soren, during a meeting organized in New Delhi to discuss ‘Left Wing Extremism and related issues on both security and development,’ chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, claimed that the presence of hardcore extremists in the state has been limited to only four regions in Jharkhand. During the meeting, Soren also raised issues such as the Centre’s contribution to the development of tribal areas in the State and requested an extension of the Special Central Assistance fund for LWE affected districts in the state.
The Chief Minister, in his address, also briefed about the effective action being taken against the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) organisations and joint efforts of central and state police forces.
According to Soren, effective action is being taken against the Left Wing Extremist organizations by establishing better coordination mechanisms between the Central and State Police Forces. Specific intelligence input based operations are being conducted in the extremely Naxal affected areas, due to which there has been a steady reduction in Maoist violence, he said.
“As a result of these operations, presence of hardcore Maoists has been limited to mainly four regions, namely Parasnath Pahar, Budha Pahar, Tri-junction of Seraikela-Khunti-Chaibasa district in Kolhan division and some of the areas along the Bihar border. I hope that if these operations are continued with the same intensity, then that day is not far when LWE could be wiped out from these places as well,” said the Chief Minister.
Apart from this, Soren also presented the records related to action being taken against LWE Organizations and crucial steps being taken by the state government to curb Maoist activities in the state. The Chief Minister also informed that due to joint efforts of both the Central and State Government, on the one hand, there has been a reduction in the number of extremist incidents, and on the other, they have been successful in taking action against extremist organizations.
“A total of 196 extremist incidents were reported in the year 2016 which has come down to 126 in the year 2020. Similarly, 61 civilians were killed by extremists in the year 2016, whereas this number was 28 in the year 2020,” said Soren. Meanwhile, a total of 85 police weapons, 13,432 rounds of bullets, 515 IEDs and 1,052 kg of explosives have been recovered from the beginning of 2020 till August 2021, he added.
Soren also informed that a total of 715 militants have been arrested, which includes 01 Special Area Committee member, 01 Regional Committee member, 12 Zonal Commanders, 13 Sub-Zonal Commanders and 32 Area Commanders. As many as 18 extremists have also been killed in police encounters, he added. Talking about the surrender policy of the State Government, Soren said that, “In the year 2020 and up to August 2021, 27 dreaded extremists have also surrendered. This includes 01 Regional Committee Member, 02 Zonal Commanders, 10 Sub-Zonal Commanders and 04 Area Commanders. It all became possible because of an attractive surrender policy of the State Government which is also being advertised throughout the state, he added.