New Delhi, March 18 The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that there was a "consistent decline" in violence perpetrated by Maoists in the last five years and the cases reduced by over 38 per cent in 2019 compared to 2014 during the UPA government led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Responding to questions regarding measures taken by the government to tackle Maoist violence, Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the Maoist incidents were restricted to 123 in the first two months of this year.
He said that the number of Maoist incidents was 670 in 2019 compared to 833 in 2018, 908 in 2017, 1,048 in 2016, and 1,089 in 2015.
"Steadfast implementation of the National Policy and Action Plan - 2015 has resulted in consistent decline in LWE-related violence in the country during the last five years. In 2019, the number of LWE-related incidents have reduced by over 38 in comparison to 2014," Reddy said.
Further, Reddy said, the number of security personnel killed in the violence has also reduced from 317 in 2009 to 52 in 2019.
Five security personnel were killed in January and February this year, however, a total of 315 were killed between 2015 and 2019, Reddy said. A total of 52 security personnel were killed in 2019 compared to 67 in 2018, 75 in 2017, 65 in 2016 and 56 in 2015.
Meanwhile, the minister said, a total of five Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) were killed between January 1, 2020 and February 29, 2020. The number of killings of extremists was 145 in 2019, 225 (highest) in 2018; 136 in 2017; 222 in 2016; and 89 in 2015.
The minister further informed the Upper House that large, mini and micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been deployed in support of anti-LWE operations.
( With inputs from IANS )