Over 162 Security Personnel, 463 Civilians Killed in Naxal Attacks from 2018 to 2020: Report

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At least 162 security personnel and 463 civilians have been killed in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence between 2018 and 2020, data from the Union government suggests. During this time, 473 Naxals have been killed, while 4,319 of them were arrested from different states, the Union Government had said in the Lok Sabha in February this year.

The report said that at least 2,168 incidents of violence were reported in the country during the three-year period.

In its statement, the Union Home Ministry said that the incidents of LWE violence have reduced by 70 per cent, from 2,258 in 2009 to 665 in 2020. It added that the resultant deaths, civilians and security forces, have reduced by 80 per cent from 1,005 in 2010 to 183 in 2020.

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Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana, have reported 833 incidents of LWE violence in 2018, the government said. During 2018, 173 civilians and 67 security personnel were killed in these states. During 2018, 225 Naxals were killed while 1,933 were arrested in these states.

In 2019, these states reported 670 cases of Naxal violence, killing 150 civilians and 52 security personnel. Also, 145 Naxals were killed and 1,276 others were arrested during the year, the data said.

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In 2020, there was 665 Naxal violence reported in these states. At least 140 civilians and 43 security personnel were killed in 2020. A total of 103 Left Wing Extremists were killed and 1,110 were arrested during 2020.

Among all the states, Chhattisgarh reported most Naxal violence in all these years, 392 in 2018, 263 in 2019 and 315 in 2020. The state also reported most deaths of security personnel each year among all the states, 55 in 2018; 22 in 2019 and 36 in 2020. During the three years, Chhattisgarh reported deaths of 228 civilians, the highest 98 reported in 2018.

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Chhattisgarh is followed by Jharkhand in the violence reported and deaths of security personnel. In 2018, Jharkhand reported 205 incidents of LWE violence. Nine security officials were killed in the state in 2018.

In 2019, Jharkhand reported 200 incidents of LWE violence and the death of 22 security personnel. In 2020, 199 incidents of LWE violence and the death of one security personnel was reported, the government said. During the three years, Jharkhand has reported the deaths of 114 civilians. No security personnel were killed in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra between 2018 and 2020.

On Saturday, an encounter of security personnel with Naxals was reported along the border between Bijapur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh. Twenty-three security personnel were reportedly killed in the deadly attack. Last month, five personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were killed and several injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur during an anti-Naxal operation.

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