Task Force to discuss steps to fight Naxals

A day after Naxalites blew up Patna-Howrah main railway line at two places in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district, the Task Force on Naxalism is all set to meet for two days in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, from Thursday to fine-tune its strategies. Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry M L Kumawat will chair the meeting. The two-day meeting is likely to be attended by senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police chiefs from Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and other Naxal-affected states. With Left-wing extremism slated to be discussed extensively at the meeting of chief ministers next week, the Union Home Ministry has stepped up efforts to shore up its anti-Naxal strategy.

Developing a network for actionable intelligence, modernising the police force and reinforcing the need to stick to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) while combating Naxal violence will be part of the discussions, official sources said.The Task Force meeting comes two days after an inter-ministerial group (IMG) discussed the development aspect of the anti-Naxal strategy. The meeting was chaired by additional secretary of Naxal management Vinay Kumar and attended by several ministries.