Home secy rules out talks with Maoists

Union Home Secretary R K Singh has made it clear that the war against Maoists will be intensified and ruled out talks with them.

This has created an uneasy atmosphere in the forests of Dantewada. Villagers who often become easy victims of crossfire between paramilitary forces and the Maoists are worried that developmental work will take a back seat in future.

The home secretary, who was here on Tuesday, ruled out the deployment of the Army to assist the civic administration. But he promised more paramilitary forces and sophisticated equipment to tackle the Maoist menace.

His assurance came following the demand from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to intensify the  campaign against the Maoists. The all-out operation will involve Cobra and Greyhound commandos.

According to sources in Chhattisgarh police headquarters, a multi-agency, multi-pronged attack will be launched in Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha simultaneously.

“Even before the joint operation starts, there will be a thorough combing of the area with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles,” a senior officer said.

The operation will be similar to the one conducted in the Abujmarh forests last year, wherein paramilitary forces combed the entire forest area, tracking every movement with the help of satellites.