India grapples with rising Maoist violence, fuelled by pandemic
Send a link to a friend
[April 05, 2021]
By Rupam Jain
(Reuters) - India's Home Minister Amit Shah
cut short an election rally in the east on Monday to head to the
mineral-rich central state of Chhattisgarh, where Maoist guerillas at
the weekend killed 22 security force members, officials said.
In addition to the fatalities, 30 other members of the Indian police and
paramilitary forces were wounded in a four-hour gun battle with Maoist
rebels on Saturday, the deadliest ambush of its kind in four years.
On Monday, Shah travelled to Chhattisgarh to meet the injured pay
tribute to those killed.
Also known as Naxals, the Maoists have waged an armed insurgency against
the government for decades. Their leaders say they are fighting on
behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited from the economic boom in
Asia's third-largest economy.
Shah told reporters the government will "not tolerate such bloodshed and
a befitting response will be given to put an end to the ongoing battle
with Maoists".
Security experts said the latest attack by Maoist rebels, considered
India's biggest internal security threat, has forced Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's right-wing government to re-evaluate counter-insurgency
operations against the ultra left-wing fighters, who have been able to
increase new followers during the pandemic.
"In the last few years the Maoists have had opportunity to regroup
themselves in their core region of dominance," said Uddipan Mukherjee, a
joint director for government agency, the Ordnance Factory Board. He has
been researching the Maoist strategy for more than a decade.
[to top of second column]
|
Security forces officers carry the body of a colleague, who was
killed in an attack by Maoist fighters, during a wreath laying
ceremony in Bijapur in the central state of Chhattisgarh, India,
April 5, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Mukherjee and others with expert knowledge said the pandemic had
allowed the insurgency to recruit more to its cause.
"We have intelligence reports that the Maoist leaders during the
pandemic have managed to recruit hundreds of new foot soldiers,
including women, living in the forests who leak details about
security force patrols," a New Delhi-based bureaucrat who oversees
country's internal security said.
"The pandemic has made the intra-state movement of Maoist leaders
much easier," the senior official said on condition of anonymity as
he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Chhattisgarh, one of the fastest-developing states in India, has 28
varieties of major minerals, including diamonds and gold, a
government website said. The state has 16% of India's coal deposits
and large reserves of iron ore and bauxite.
(Additional reporting Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneshwar, Saurabh Sharma
in Lucknow; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|