Maoists should be treated as terrorists: Chattisgarh to MHA

Days after the Maoist attack in which 13 CRPF personnel were killed in Sukma, Chhattisgarh on Tuesday told the Ministry of Home Affairs that “Maoists should be treated as terrorists”. In a meeting convened to discuss the new draft Naxal policy being framed by the NDA government, Chhattisgarh DGP A N Upadhyay, who was representing the state, said that not only the rebels but their frontal organisations should also be kept under tight scrutiny. CRPF was of the view that a battalion should be raised in each of the affected states comprising local tribal population.

All the stakeholders wanted better air support for the forces during anti-Maoist operations. DGPs of nine other Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states and heads of central armed police forces like CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB also attended the meeting chaired by Home Secretary Anil Goswami.

“The Chhattisgarh DGP, who spoke the longest, was of the view that Maoists should be treated as terrorists. He also said the ministry could not dictate the tactics to be adopted on field to the states,” said a senior official who attended the meeting. Despite repeated attempts, Upadhyay could not be reached for his comments. The draft Naxal policy was circulated to all the 10 affected states and forces for their views.