In the first six months of this year [2012],
Naxals [Left-Wing Extremists]
have killed as many
as 82 Security Force
personnel, while losing
only 48 of their cadres,
reports The Indian
Express. Naxal violence
has claimed 244 lives
in the first six months,
including those of civilians
who get dubbed as Police
informers. The figure
includes the recent
deaths in the encounters
that happened in Bijapur.
The total number of
deaths is only slightly
better than in the same
period last year [2011]
when 301 people had
lost their lives, according
to the latest official
data. And while Chhattisgarh
remains the main battlefield,
Naxal groups are enhancing
their presence and influence
in Odisha and Jharkhand,
an official assessment
says. The total number
of casualties in Chhattisgarh,
211 in the first six
months, has actually
declined as compared
to the same period last
year, when it was 243,
but both Jharkhand and
Orissa saw more deaths. |
