NSA to collate with Intelligence Bureau to counter Left-wing extremism

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked Alok Joshi, the chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), along with the chiefs of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Joint Intelligence Committee to give their inputs for a new strategy being framed to counter Left-wing extremism.

ET has learnt that Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Joshi on September 12 to give inputs for the new policy after reports with the ministry suggested that the CPI (Maoist) was also drawing support from organisations abroad. "The R&AW has been roped in for the first time to frame a strategy to counter the ideological or financial support being received by CPI (Maoist) from abroad," a senior home ministry official said.

NSA Ajit Doval, who was also present at the meeting, is said to be overseeing the exercise of collating the inputs from all intelligence agencies and incorporating them into a cohesive policy, tentatively named 'Strategic and Tactical Paradigm to Combat Maoist Insurgency’. The policy will be sent to all affected states for their views and is expected to take the final shape by October, a ministry official said.

Singh is visiting Jharkhand on Tuesday for a review of the situation after a report prepared by the ministry said anti-Maoist operations have yielded "very poor results". "Largescale extortions and levy collection by Maoists and presence of seven splinter Naxal groups in Jharkhand, the worst Naxal-affected state, make the situation worse in the state."