Deploy army in Maoist hit areas: Sushma Swaraj

HYDERABAD/RAIPUR - Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, has said the Central Government should deploy the army in the Maoist-hit areas.

“There is no confusion, the national leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) want army to be deployed in order to solve Maoist related issues. The government should overcome the state of dilemma,” said Swaraj.

“The Defence Minister is not sure whether to deploy the air force or not, the government should help the people overcome the Maoist menace,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh police gunned down two top Maoist leaders in a gun battle in the forest area of Sarvepalli on Friday.

“There was an exchange of fire between the police and the Maoists in the forest area of Sarvepalli. Two Maoists were killed in this exchange of fire,” said Hyderabad Superintendent of Police Pramod Kumar.

“One of the killed Maoists has been identified as C Rajakumar alias Azad,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said the paramilitary forces are trained enough and it not his responsibility to prepare them for anti-Maoist operations.

On Tuesday, at least 90 Maoists were involved in an ambush on a 63-strong CRPF road-opening party, which was returning to the unit after completing their tasks. It took place around 3 p.m. near Dhaudhai Police Station in Narayanpur.

The preliminary post-mortem reports said the Naxals pumped in three to four bullets into each of the bodies that were found. Several personnel had their throats slit, while others had their heads smashed and limbs severed. (ANI)