Joint operation to jolt Naxals in Chhattisgarh: Shinde

The Central Paramilitary force would launch a joint operation with the state police in Chhattisgarh to combat Naxalites.

The decision was taken at a high level meeting held here today afternoon. The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and was attended by senior officials of ministry, central and state forces.

Chief Minister Raman Singh was also present.

“We have decided to start a joint operation of central and state security forces to deal with the Left Wing Extremists (LWE),” Shinde said after the meeting. The operation would now be confined to Chhattisgarh only as the state had seen the worst face of violence recently, he added.

The details of the operation could not be revealed, Shinde said. It was a top secret that could not be revealed, he added.

On Saturday last, Naxals ambushed the convoy of Congress leaders in Bastar district and killed its key functionaries including state party chief Nandkumar Patel, former leader of opposition in Chhattisgarh assembly Mahendra Karma and 25 others.

“Today’s meeting was convened to take stock of the situation arising after the incident and plan strategy to prevent its’ repeat,” Shinde said.

He said the Centre and the State would fight together to tackle the issue of left wing extremism. The state infested with the Naxal violence should raise its specialized force like Andhra’s Greyhounds to deal with the situation.

“The Centre would provide all assistance for raising the force,” Shinde said.

The Union Home Minister said preliminary inquiry suggested that there could be some serious lapses that led to the incident.

“Two separate agencies including National Investigation Agency (NIA) and judicial commission were investigating including the matter,” Shinde said, adding that the probe would reveal if there was any political theory or conspiracy that resulted in the incident.

The Minister said the investigating agencies had been given free hand and asked to disclose the facts without concealing.