Maoist menace is rearing its ugly ahead again in Odisha and the newly created state of Telangana after lying low for some time with the overall situation in LWE-affected states remaining “fluid”, the chief of the lead anti-Naxal operations force CRPF has said.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Prakash Mishra said while the focus of anti-Naxal operations continues to be the worst Maoist violence-hit states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, areas around the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha Border (AOB) and those within Odisha “need more attention”.
The ex-Odisha DGP said while Naxal activity in the state had by-and-large cleared up, it is now “coming back” in the Narayanpatna area of Koraput district which borders Andhra.
“There could be many reasons (for this) – non-application of Standard Operating Procedures or lax policing. The inherent danger is always there...even in Telangana and some places in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
CRPF is drawing up a map for re-deploying its forces in Odisha with Mishra himself undertaking a number of operational visits to the state.
"As of now, I would say the situation is fluid but if the drive (operations and development together) continues as it is at the present, then I think, it (Naxal violence) is going to take a turn for the better only. There shouldn't be any let down (in operations and development works) in affected areas," he said when asked to give his assessment of the Left Wing Extremism situation in the country.
Mishra, who retires this month-end after heading the country's largest paramilitary for over an year, said this at a time when Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is himself on a tour of these areas in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The Centre has recently sanctioned 1,000 more BSF personnel to Andhra Pradesh for these tasks.