Rajnath calls for use of drones to check Left-wing extremism

We must try that there must be at least 1 UAV/ Mini UAV with every battalion... Trackers should also be embedded in shoes, bulletproof jackets RAJNATH SINGH, home minister

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday called for the use of technology and a smart and aggressive strategy to deal with Maoists in the 10 affected states, days after 25 paramilitary troopers were killed by them in Chhattisgarh.

Singh said SAMADHAN (solution in Hindi) can be a way to tackle Left-wing extremism (LWE) and asked the 10 Maoist-affected states — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh — to lead from the front.

He said S stood for smart leadership, A for aggressive strategy, M for motivation and training, A for actionable intelligence, D for dashboard based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas), H for harnessing technology, A for action plan for each area and N for no access to financing.

Inaugurating a review meeting on the issue, Singh said miniunmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are extremely useful for antiMaoist operations and should be procured and made available in more quantities to tackle LWE.

“We must try that there must be at least 1 UAV/Mini UAV with every battalion,” he said, advocating more eyes in the sky to deal with Maoist violence, in which he said 12,000 people, including 2,700 security personnel, have lost their lives in the last 20 years.

The minister added to prevent the Maoists from using weapons looted from security personnel, trackers must be added to them and biometrics used in smart gun triggers. “Trackers should also be embedded in shoes, bulletproof jackets,” he added.

Following the meeting, home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said there was no plan to involve the army in anti-Maoist operations.

Mehrishi said a high-level committee, under his chairmanship, has been set up to fine-tune a comprehensive strategy to curb the Maoist menace. The committee will have chief secretaries and police chiefs of the affected states as members. He said all states asked for continuation or resumption of LWE schemes on expenditure and infrastructure.