Naxal violence down by 70 pc from all-time high in 2009: Govt

The incidents of Naxal violence have come down by 70 per cent from the all-time high of 2,258 incidents in 2009 to 665 in 2020 across the country, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

"The LWEs (Left Wing Extremists) indulge in opportunistic attacks on Security Forces (SFs) and also target civilian population and public property. However, the incidents of LWE violence have come down by 70 per cent from the all-time high of 2258 incidents in 2009 to 665 in 2020," Rai said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

This came after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vijay Pal Singh Tomar asked the MoS Home about the Naxal violence in India.

Further, the minister was also asked about whether this decline in Naxal violence has also resulted in the reduction of resultant deaths.

"Similarly, the resultant deaths of civilians and Security Forces, both have declined by 80 per cent from an all-time high of 1005 in 2010 to 183 in 2020," he said.

"Geographical spread of the violence has constricted and only 53 districts across nine States reported LWE related violence as compared to 76 districts across 10 States in 2013. The declining trend in incidents of LWE violence and its geographical spread continues in 2021," the MoS added.

( With inputs from ANI )