2015 saw lowest Naxal violence in 6 years

New Delhi, Jan 31: Maoists-hit states witnessed lowest violence in six years with casualties and incidents coming down substantially in 2015.

While nearly one lakh paramilitary personnel continued to be deployed in left wing extremism-affected areas, the 10 Naxal-hit states -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh -- saw 226 deaths in 1,088 incidents of violence perpetrated by Maoists last year.

According to Home Ministry statistics, in 2010, there were 2,213 incidents of violence in which 1,005 people lost their lives and in 2011, a total of 611 people were killed in 1,760 incidents. In 2014, there were 1,091 incidents of Maoist violence in the 10 states in which 310 people lost their lives.

In 2015, of the 226 deaths, 168 were civilians and 58 were security forces personnel. As many as 89 Maoists were also killed and 1,668 were arrested and 570 cadres surrendered before authorities during the year.

In 2014, out of the 310 casualties, 222 were civilians and 88 personnel of security forces. A total of 63 Naxals were killed that year, while 1,696 cadres were arrested and 676 others surrendered.

The Maoists attacks on security forces have also come down -- from 155 in 2014 to 118 in 2015 while encounters between security forces and the rebels have increased -- from 221 in 2014 to 247 in 2015.

In 2015, total of 723 arms were recovered from Naxals by the security forces, 18 arms were snatched by the Maoists and 18 arms training camps were held by the rebels. In 2014, as many as 548 arms were recovered, 58 arms were snatched and 34 arms training camps were held by the Maoists.

PTI