CRPF gains upper hand against Naxals after setting up 125 bases deep inside their dens

NEW DELHI: Attributing the recent successes in operations against left wing extremists to forward operating bases deep inside Naxal dens, officials in the security set-up said that 125 such units were established by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the past three years.

Giving year wise details, a senior official said the CRPF has set up 18 forward operating bases so far in 2024, while 31 such posts were established in 2023, 48 in 2022 and 28 in 2021.

These posts have given a decisive advantage to the security forces in fighting the Naxals, as more than 90 extremists were killed, over 125 arrested and 150 have surrendered so far this year in Chhattisgarh alone, the official said.

As per the official data put out by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), LWE-related violence has declined by 52 percent in the country and the number of deaths by 69 percent, from 6,035 to 1,868, in the period between 2014 and 2023 as compared to the period from 2004 to 2014.

After a recent detailed review of the security situation in the states affected by left wing extremism, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had directed the forces to proactively carry out operations against the Maoists.