Probe ordered into Sukma Maoist attack: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said a probe has been ordered into the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district that killed 12 CRPF personnel and said the government is committed to counter and eliminate Left Wing Extremism.

The Home minister in his statement to the Lok Sabha said the success of the armed forces against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has rattled the rebels.

"In 2016, our armed forces met with big success in all LWE affected areas particularly Chhattisgarh. While 135 extremists were killed, 789 were arrested and 1198 surrendered.

"There has been a 15 per cent decline of Maoist violence in 2016. From 495 acts of Maoist violence in 2015, in 2016 the number of such acts came down to 395," he said.

In one of the biggest Maoist attacks in the past two years, 12 CRPF personnel were killed and four injured in an ambush by the rebels on Saturday.

Paying homage to the slain troopers, Rajnath Singh said a probe by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director has been ordered to find out lapses if any that led to the attack and assured the Centre's commitment towards countering and eliminating the Left Wing extremism.

"The Centre government will pay Rs 45 lakh ex gratia to the families of each of the martyrs, along with Rs 25 lakh from CRPF risk fund, Rs 1 lakh from CRPF welfare fund and Rs 25 lakh of insurance. Under the liberalised pensionary award, families will also be entitled to get full salary of the martyred soldiers till the age of retirement," he said.

--IANS

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