Bharti JainBharti Jain,TNN | Jan 27, 2014, 05.04 AM IST
NEW DELHI: While Jharkhand maintained its position as the state with the highest incidence of Naxalite violence in 2013, Bihar has bucked the nationwide trend of falling violence by recording a rise both in terms of incidents and killings as compared to 2012.
Overall Naxalite-related incidents fell from 1,415 in 2012 to 1,129 last year, while killings were down from 415 to 394 in the same period. Of the 394 deaths recorded across the country, 115 belonged to the security forces and 279 were civilians.
Among the affected states, Jharkhand emerged as the worst-hit in 2013 with 383 incidents and 150 deaths, though these statistics are lower compared to 2012. Chhattisgarh was a close second, recording 353 incidents and 110 killings in 2013, as against 370 incidents and 109 killings in 2012.
Bihar, which of late has been causing concern to the Centre as regards its counter-Naxalite approach, was the only state with higher extremism levels and resultant killings. Incidents in the state were up in 2013 at 176, reversing the year-on-year downward trend seen in 2011 (316 incidents) and 2012 (166). Killings were higher at 69 last year, compared to 44 in 2012, which translates into a 57% rise. Though civilian deaths were up to 42 in 2013 from 34 in 2012, security personnel killed witnessed an increase from 10 to 27 in the corresponding period.
Incidentally, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde had written to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in December last year, expressing concern at the unprecedented rise in deaths among security personnel deployed for counter-Naxalite duties in the state. The letter had irked the state government, with Janata Dal (United) MPs dubbing it as an "insult" and protesting in Parliament over the issue.
As for the other states hit by left-wing extremism, Odisha accounted for 101 incidents and 35 deaths in 2013, as against 171 incidents and 45 deaths the preceding year. Maharashtra too recorded a fall in incidents and deaths, which stood at 71 and 19 respectively. Andhra Pradesh maintained its declining levels of Naxalite violence, with 36 incidents and 11 deaths.