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Journalism of Courage
With violence increasing in villages along the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border,the state government is correcting course to combat Naxals.
Home minister R R Patil said Sunday the government would give a befitting reply to Naxals indulging in mindless violence using sophisticated weapons to kill the innocent.
If someone picks up a gun,we cannot overlook.
Patil,who visited the border villages Friday,said,I spent an entire day along the border speaking to tribals. If Naxals use violence,we will have to use police force.
As the Centre begins a crackdown in Chhattisgarh,Naxals and their sympathisers are likely to seek hideouts in Maharashtra.
Patil said,The state government will have to pursue a two-pronged strategy. The government will have to give a tit-for-tat reply. The home minister held a meeting with DGP and districts officials Sunday to review security measures following the attack on a Congress yatra in Chhattisgarh.
We have scaled up police deployment in the sensitive region. We have a formidable force of 10,000 policemen in Gadchiroli,Bhandara and Gondia. Human resources is not a problem, he said.
In the last one year,the state has recruited 2,700 policemen and the Centre has sent 3,000 security personnel to the Naxal-infested region in the past two years.
However,Patil said: It is my sincere belief Naxals are not a problem that can be solved through the gun. We will have to simultaneously ensure socio-economic development of the region. The state has already set aside Rs 1,000 crore for the purpose.
However,Patil lamented efforts to make Naxals surrender and join the mainstream remained on paper.
The government had worked out a package to rehabilitate and protect Naxals willing to give up weapons. But the response has been poor. The state is willing to take ten steps,provided they take one.
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