New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived for a review meeting on ‘Left-Wing Extremism’ with Chief Ministers of 10 Maoist-Hit states.
Those who were invited for the day-long physical meeting are the chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
The home minister will review with the chief ministers the security situation and ongoing operations against the Maoists in 10 Maoist-hit states, a home ministry official said in New Delhi.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik along with the State’s DGP Abhay and 5T Secretary are attending the meeting.
According to the Union Home Ministry data, Maoist violence has reduced considerably in the country and the menace is prevalent now in just about 45 districts.
However, a total of 90 districts in the country are considered Maoists-affected and are covered under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme of the ministry. Maoist violence, also called Left Wing Extremism (LWE), were reported in 61 districts in 2019 and only about 45 districts in 2020.
About 380 security personnel, 1,000 civilians and 900 Maoists were killed in different instances of violence in LWE-affected areas from 2015 till 2020. A total of about 4,200 Maoists have also surrendered during the same period, according to the data.
