By IANS,
Raipur : Amid rising violence and growing presence of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in Chhattisgarh, the state government Saturday announced the extension of a ban on the group and its six affiliates for one more year.
In a notification issued by the home department, the ban on the CPI-Maoist and its six frontal organisations has been extended to April 12, 2010.
The six groups are Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh, Krantikari Adivasi Balak Sangh, Krantikari Kisan Committee, Mahila Mukti Manch and Jantana Sarkar.
The CPI-Maoist was first banned along with its affiliates in the state in April 2006 under sub-section one of section three of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005.
Since then, the state government has been extending the ban in April every year.
The CPI-Maoist, formed by the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre and People’s War Group, commands a massive interior forested belt in the state’s southern mineral rich Bastar region, which comprises the five districts of Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar, Kanker and Narayanpur.
Officials at the police headquarters here said that at least 1,500 people have been killed in Maoist violence in the state since it came into existence in November 2000 after splitting from Madhya Pradesh.