By NNN-APP,
New Delhi : Maoist violence in India is escalating and insurgency worst hits state of Chhattisgarh, which has witnessed 1093 casualties since 2004.
In a written reply to a question by the leader of opposition, the Home Minister informed the Chhattisgarh State Assembly that casualties from among civilians and security forces caused by Maoist violence in four years’ period included 726 civilians, 243 police personnel and 124 special police officers belonging to the Government sponsored Salwa Jadum militia.
The casualties had resulted from 2784 incidents of violence logged between Jan 1, 2004 and June 20, 2008. The worst hit areas belonged to five southern hilly districts – Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kankar and Baster, spread out in about 40,000 sq km area where 90% of the incidents had occurred.
Maoist Insurgency, described by the India Prime Minister as, “the single biggest internal threat ever faced by India: simmered on the fringes of Indian politics for over four decades but fueled by the widening class differences in the country has now emerged at the centre stage.
The current surge in Maoist insurgency began in 2004 when two Naxalite factions – Marxist and Maoists joined to form the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Maoists’ strength is currently estimated at around 20,000 and the movement has consolidated power in 11 of India’s 28 states.