New Delhi, Mar 29: In 2024, the maximum number of 267 violent incidents involving Maoists took place in Chhattisgarh followed by 69 in Jharkhand, official data of the Ministry of Home Affairs showed on Saturday.

On a day when the security forces gunned down 16 Maoists in an operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, officials pointed out that violent incidents related to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in Chhattisgarh have been coming down over the years, gradually taking the state closer to the target of becoming Maoist-free by March 31, 2026.

Incidents of LWE violence in the state stood at 305 in 2023, 246 in 2022, 188 in 2021, 241 in 2020 and 182 in 2019.

Pointing to the data, officials said the rise in violence in years 2022 and 2023 were on account of increased counter-LWE operations as the security forces commenced entering in the core areas of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

According to officials, LWE violence incidents, which reached their highest number of 1,936 in 2010, have reduced to 374 in 2024 - a reduction of 81 per cent.

The total number of deaths (civilians and security personnel) has also reduced by 85 per cent during this period from 1,005 in 2010 to 150 in 2024.

Official data also showed that incidents of violence by LWE which were 501 in 2019 have reduced to 374 in 2024 - a reduction of 25 per cent. The total number of deaths (civilians and security forces) has also reduced by 26 per cent during this period from 202 deaths in 2019 to 150 in 2024.

There has also been a sharp decline in the number of districts affected by LWE over the past six years. The LWE-affected districts were reduced from 126 to 90 by April 2018, further to 70 by July 2021 and then to 38 by April 2024, showed official data.

Chhattisgarh’s neighbour, Jharkhand, has also seen a reducing trend in LWE violence over the past six years. There were 69 LWE violence incidents in 2024, 129 in 2023, 96 in 2022, 100 in 2021, 154 in 2020 and 166 in 2019.

In Maharashtra, there were 10 LWE violence incidents in 2024, 19 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 15 in 2021, 13 in 2020 and 48 in 2019.

In Odisha, there were 6 LWE violence incidents in 2024, 12 in 2023, 16 in 2022, 11 in 2021, 2020 in 21 and 34 in 2019.

In Telangana, there were 8 LWE violence incidents in 2024, 3 in 2023, 9 in 2022, 4 in 2021, 5 in 2020 and 6 in 2019, according to MHA data.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday praised the security forces for their successful anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Dantewada districts, where 16 Maoists were eliminated.

In a post on X, HM Shah said, “Another strike on Naxalism! Our security agencies have neutralized 16 Naxalites and recovered a massive cache of automatic weapons in an operation in Sukma. Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, we are resolved to eradicate Naxalism before March 31, 2026. My appeal to those with arms is that weapons and violence cannot bring change; only peace and development can.”

--IANS

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