Three J’khand districts no more in LWE-hit list

As per a notification by Union home ministry, Simdega, Koderma and Ramgarh have been dropped from the list

RANCHI: In a boost for the state police, the Union home ministry has reduced the number of Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-hit districts to 16 from 19 in Jharkhand.

There are 24 districts in Jharkhand.

As per the new list notified by the Union home ministry, Simdega, Koderma and Ramgarh have been dropped from the LWE-hit list. Koderma and Ramgarh are part of North Chhotanagpur, while Simedga is in South Chhotanagpur.

Confirming the development, Jharkhand inspector general (operations) AV Homkar said on Wednesday, “The revised list came into effect from July 1. Simdega, Koderma and Ramgarh are out of that list.”

The districts which continue to be on the list are Bokaro, Chatra, Dhanbad, Dumka, East Singhbhum (Jamshedpur), Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Hazaribag,

Khunti, Latehar, Lohardaga, Palamu, Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum (Chaibasa).

The list is revised by the Union home ministry based on the number of Maoist incidents in the districts over last three years, officials said.

As per data provided by the Union home ministry in reply to a question in the Parliament, the number of incidents/activities related to Maoist violence witnessed a marginal dip in Jharkhand in the past three years.

The number of deaths in the state in such incidents also recorded a decline in 2020 as compared to 2019. The total incidents stood at 205, 200 and 199 in the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively, while the death toll stood at 43, 54 and 39, respectively.

While the development was a pat on the back of the state police, officials expressed apprehension that dropping the three districts from the list may have other repercussions with regard to anti-Maoist operation, as it would entail funds drying up provided by the Centre under security-related expenditure scheme.

“Though the funds vary from district to district, depending on the number of operations conducted, it is of big help as it pays for expenditure such as hiring vehicles for patrolling, fuel expenditure, besides other expenditure related to strengthening of pickets and camps. Though alternative arrangements are made and operations do not stop, it does pose a risk of incidents picking up if patrolling and area domination goes down,” a police officer involved in anti-Maoist operations said.