LWE violence down, but fresh strategy still required: IB chief

“Of the 39 central committee members the CPI(Maoist) had in 2004, only 20 are around now. Moreover, there has been a shrinkage of their area of operation, while there has been a decline in the number of killings by these groups. But despite that we cannot afford to remain complacent and have to draw up a fresh strategy,” the IB chief said.

The IB director identified giving a bigger role to the state police forces as a key component in tackling Left-Wing extremism, one that was later endorsed by union home minister Rajnath Singh in his inaugural speech in the function.

“There should be better coordination between paramilitary forces and the state police forces in tackling the Maoists. It is also very important who is holding leadership in operations against them. In states affected by Left-Wing extremism, I would suggest the leadership be taken by the state police. The DMs and SPs should lead the operations,” the home minister said.

The union home minister reiterated that the government was ready to talk to the Maoists, but not until they gave up violence. “We are ready to talk, but cannot allow any violence to occur,” he said.