Meeting of states to devise strategy to contain naxalism

New Delhi, Mar 30 (UNI) The centre will hold a high level meeting of Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of 13 naxal affected states tomorrow to decide on effective steps to minimise civilian casualties in naxal attacks.

The coordination committee meeting has been convened by the Union Home Ministry in the context of increase in naxal attacks in the past two months, claiming more civilian lives. It will be chaired by Home Secretary V K Duggal.

It is expected to come out with a fool-proof strategy in the fight against naxalism with inter-state links and also links with the CPI (Maoists) in Nepal.

The Centre would take stock of the steps taken in modernising police force and their proper training. It would also assess the steps taken for land reforms in these states as integrating militants in the mainstream is a major step for effectively dealing with the naxalite menace.

This meeting will be followed by a meeting of Chief Ministers of these states next month to be presided over by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

The Union Home Ministry is worried after the series of naxal attacks in the recent past in which the focus was on civilian targets.

Tomorrow's meeting is slated to discuss the different routes by which the state governments could extend help to the emerging anti-naxal movements like "Salva Judum" at the local level in different parts of Chhattisgarh and elsewhere.

The focus of discussion would be the pattern of recent violent naxalite incidents in Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh and measures to be taken to frustrate any future move to disrupt law and order situation by the Maoists.

The Centre is expected to advise the state governments to make effective deployment of the central forces available with them to tackle naxal violence.

Though the Centre is willing to extend whatever assistance that is required by the states for effective handling of naxalism, it is not happy over the manner in which the central forces at their disposal were made maximum use of.

A major discussion point at the forthcoming meeting would be on further intensifying combing operations in the jungles known for naxalite activity.

The naxalism-infested states would review the progress in the intelligence sharing system among the affected states and the protection to be extended to the supporters of "Salva Judum" movement against the naxals which is gaining momentum in many tribal hamlets, especially in Chhattisgarh.

The meeting would certainly discuss the special arrangements to be made for the yatra being led by BJP leader L K Advani from April six in view of the fact that the yatra passes through some sensitive naxal-dominated areas.

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