Security forces to target top Naxal leaders

Alarmed over unabated Naxal violence, the Centre and the state governments have decided to go after the top leadership of CPI(Maoist) through intelligence based operations.

The decision was taken at a special session of Chief Ministers of Naxal affected states held here yesterday in the wake of the May 25 bloodbath in Chhattisgarh's Bastar that left 27 people, including Congress leaders, dead.

Official sources said the meeting resolved that there was a need for continuous targeting of top leadership of the CPI(Maoist) through intelligence based operations by special forces along with inter-state coordination and uniformity in approach by all the Left Wing Extremism affected states.

It was suggested that the special forces also need to target the "military companies and platoons" of the CPI (Maoist) by developing specific intelligence regarding their location.

Currently five top leaders of the CPI(Maoist) are at large. They are: Mupalla Lakshman Rao alias Ganapathy, Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj, Thippiri Tirupati alias Deoji, Balmuri Narayan Rao alias Prabhakar and Somji alias Sahdev.

While Ganapathy is carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, Basavraj, Deoji and Prabhakar carry a reward of Rs 10 lakh each. Sahdev carries a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde presided the meeting in which chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar, Governor of Jharkhand and representatives of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal participated.

The meeting came to the conclusion that any state which fails to make a dent in the military capability of CPI(Maoist) will not be able to sustain developmental efforts and political mobilisation of the people in affected areas, the sources said.

The special session resolved that political mobilisation by mainstream political parties is necessary to wean local populations away from the Maoists' influence and such political activity has to be encouraged by all the state governments.

It stressed on the need to give best possible security to political workers and political programmes to avoid incidents like the one which occurred in Chhattisgarh.

The Chief Ministers emphasised on the need for inter-state coordination and expressed concern over lack of seamless coordination between states which translates into effective operations.

The sources said it was brought to everyone's notice that some states have stopped communication with other states which resulted in tactical advantage to Maoists and hence inter-state coordination at the state level, district level, and the police station level should be energised without any unnecessary blame game.

"There is a need for uniformity in approach by all the LWE affected states if success has to be achieved in eradicating the Left Wing Extremism. The strategy and tactics required for this is by and large based on the lessons we learn from each other.

"Hence, any state with a completely different strategy is bound to face serious problems in the long-term," the meeting resolved.