Naxal violence: Over 10,000 people killed in past five years

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in reply to a query under the Right to Information Act,
revealed that Naxal violence had claimed over 10,000 lives in the past five years, but
denies 'Operation Green Hunt' in Naxal-affected areas

Naxal violence has claimed the lives of over 10,000 civilian and security personnel in
the last five years, with a significant rise in the number of killings in left-wing extremism-
hit states. Out of a total of 10,268 casualties between 2005 and May 2010, 2,372
deaths have been reported in 2009 as against 1,769 in 2008 and 1,737 in 2007, an RTI
reply by the home ministry said.

A total of 83 districts in nine states --- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh,

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal --
have been identified as Naxal-hit, the reply read.

A total of 1,999 civilians and security men lost their lives in 2006, and 1,952 others in
2005. As many as 439 people were killed between January and May this year, the
reply stated. Exercising his right to information, Ashwini Shrivastava had sought
information on the Ramamohan Committee report on the Dantewada Naxal attacks.

In other major Naxal attacks, 21 policemen were killed when their van was blown up in
a landmine blast in Malkangiri district of Orissa on July 16, 2008. In February this year,
24 personnel of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) were killed as Maoists attacked their
camp in Silda in West Midnapore district, West Bengal. On April 4, Maoists triggered a
landmine blast killing 11 security personnel of the elite anti-Naxal force Special
Operations Group (SOG) in Koraput district of Orissa.

The ministry has, however, refused to part with a copy of the Ramamohan Committee
report. Former BSF chief E N Ramamohan was appointed by the home ministry to
probe the Dantewada massacre in Chhattisgarh by Naxals in which 76 security
personnel were killed.

"A copy of the report filed by the committee cannot be provided under Section 8 (a) of
the Right to Information Act, 2005," it said. According to the Section, "information,
disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the

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security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign
State or lead to incitement of an offence," cannot be given.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its reply, added: "No operation named as 'Green Hunt
Operation' is being carried out by security forces in the Naxal-hit areas." Only last
week, the Indian government took strong exception to the inclusion of the Naxal issue
under the category of an "armed conflict" in an UN report.

Taking up the matter in the UN, India's envoy to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri told the
Security Council that Maoist violence did not fall within the definition of armed conflict
under international law. "At the outset I should make clear that the violence being
perpetrated by these groups, though completely abhorrent and condemnable, certainly
does not make this a zone of armed conflict as defined by international law," he was
quoted as saying.

Reference to the Naxal issue was made in a UN report on 'Children and Armed
Conflicts' which was submitted to the UNSC. The report, which is produced by the
office of Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, highlighted the recruitment and use of
children by Maoists in Chhattisgarh. The report said Naxals have admitted that children
were used as messengers and informers and also given training to use non-lethal and
lethal weapons, including landmines.

Source: Press Trust of India, June 25, 2010

The Economic Times, June 20, 2010
http://www.zeenews.com, June 2010

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