Rajnath Singh promises CRPF jawans parity with BSF as he visits Red zone by motorbike

After rolling out a new policy to wipe out Maoists, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday assessed the preparedness of security forces to deal with the Maoists in Jharkhand.

Singh proceeded to Thalkobad (Saranda), a Maoist hotbed form the airport. The minister then rode a motorcycle to the CRPF camp in Thalkobad where he interacted with jawans.

The home minister later held a series of high-level meetings with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, CRPF director-general, chief secretary at Raj Bhavan. He briefed the officials of the government's new anti-Maoist strategy, which focuses on increased fighting capabilities of the state police. "He discussed the blueprint prepared by the home ministry and asked us to implement the projects within the deadline," Chief Secretary Sudhir Prasad said.

"Jawans would be armed with AK-47 to fight the Maoists. Troops working on holidays would be given special payments on par with army and BSF personnel," Singh said while assuring to modernise security forces. Meanwhile, PLFI Maoists opened fire on security forces in West Singbhum district (Bandgaon) 30 minutes after Singh landed in the state.