Telangana government beefs up security as Maoist activities increases

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)-led government in India's newest state has beefed up security in border districts apart from providing bullet-proof vehicles to ministers, alarmed by the attempts of Left-wing extremists to regain their lost ground in the region.
The ruling TRS, which had till last year repeatedly debunked the apprehensions over threat of Maoists once Telangana was carved out, has also decided to further modernise the police force by earmarking substantial funds to counter infiltration by Maoists.

“The union home ministry has advised the Telangana government to augment its security forces, especially following the division of erstwhile elite antiMaoist force Greyhounds, in the backdrop of reports on increasing attempts by the left wing extremists for a steady comeback,“ said a home ministry official, who did not want to be named.

He pointed to rising incidents of Maoists attempting to wrest back their old clout in the region, which was once hotbed of their violent activities for decades, taking advantage of inadequate combing by relatively weakened police in Telangana.

“We have reports that the Maoists, whose top leadership is primarily from the Telangana region, are in a recuperation stage now and are making serious attempts towards inroads into North Telangana once again after a gap of more than a decade,“ he told ET.

He said the intelligence reports indicated that though the Naxals did not succeed so far in fresh recruitments, “there are signs of ingredients in the form of growing discontent in the rural areas amidst increasing suicides by distressed farmers which the Leftwing extremists are looking to use for their comeback.“

BJP's Telangana President G Kishan Reddy wants the TRS government to focus on solving the unemployment.