Patna, Apr 26 (PTI) The Bihar Police have claimed to have choked the supply chain of weapons to Maoists during a sustained anti-Naxal crackdown leading to a drastic reduction in their strength.
An illegal arms factory, a major source of weapons for the Naxals, was recently busted by the Special Task Force (STF) and Central forces in Nawada, Additional Director General (STF-operation), Bihar Police, Sushil Mansingh Khopde said.
It was a major success and similar operations by the STF have helped in bringing down the number of left-wing extremists to not more than 80, Khopde told PTI.
Now, our security forces are moving towards making 10 most troubled administrative blocks or villages in three districts Gaya, Lakhisarai, and Jamui free from left-wing insurgency, the ADG said.
Besides, five special forward bases are also being set up in troubled areas, including the hills near Sherghati and Chakarbanda forests, in these districts, he added.
Security forces had arrested six persons for allegedly running an illegal arms factory in Nawada district last month. Custodial interrogation of the accused revealed that Maoists of the area were in constant touch with them for the procurement of weapons.
We also busted two other illegal arms factories, that were major sources of arms supply to the Naxals, said the ADG.
However, there are certain areas in the state where overground workers (OGW) of Maoists are still active, and in some cases, they provide logistical support to the ultras, Khopde said.
OGWs of Naxals are still active in Bagaha, Munger, Arwal, Nawada, Kaimur, and Jehanabad districts. We are keeping a close watch on them , he said.
A national policy and an action plan are being implemented to combat left-wing extremism in the country, the ADG said pointing out that the Central and the state governments have been working closely to tackle the problem.
Several interventions are being made, both security and development related, as a result of which, there has been a marked improvement in the left-wing extremism scenario , said Khopde.
