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NEW DELHI: As many as 119 Maoists have been eliminated so far this year as compared to 136 killed in the whole of 2017, according to latest data put out by the home ministry. The unusually high casualty figure, considering that no more than 48 Maoists were eliminated by the security forces until April 30 last year, includes 40 cadres killed in two encounters at Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, on April 22 and 23.

The home ministry, in a report listing its achievements over the past four years of Modi government, claimed that it had contained "the incipient threat" from Islamic State (IS) with the arrest of 113 sympathisers of the global outfit from across the country and banning of IS as a "terrorist" organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Putting out a comparative analysis of violence statistics between 2010-2013 to 2014-2017, the home ministry said incidents of Left-wing extremism were down 36.6 per cent from 6,524 in the period 2010-2013 to 4,136 between 2014-17. Deaths of civilians and security forces in LWE theatres fell 55.5 per cent from 2,428 to 1,081, while the number of Maoists eliminated rose from 445 to 510 in the corresponding period.

In Jammu & Kashmir, the home ministry document has only listed the figure of terrorists killed. As many as 619 terrorists were eliminated between 2014 and 2017, against 471 between 2010 and 2013. Incidentally, 65 terrorists were killed till May 26 this year, as per intelligence sources.

The report focuses on recounting steps taken over the last four years to improve the situation as well as sentiment in J&K. For instance, it talks of Central forces in J&K having raised 300 football teams in the Valley state, involving 4,600 youth. The Modi government’s tenure has also seen the direct recruitment of 3,882 J&K youth in the Central forces, 7,302 in the Indian Army and 7,698 as special police officers (SPOs), besides raising of 5 Indian Reserve battalions comprising 4,690 personnel from J&K. Also, ex-gratia for a J&K police personnel killed in a counter-terror action stands enhanced to Rs 30 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.

Recording the status of employment generation in J&K , the report said that while 18,174 graduate and diploma-holders from the state were offered jobs under ‘Udaan’ scheme and 56,829 school and college dropouts under ‘Himayat’ scheme, 4,780 women from Kupwara were trained for self-sustenance.

In the north-east region, the home ministry said violent incidents declined 85 per cent in the past four years and 96 per cent since 1997. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act had been lifted from Meghalaya and Tripura, and its area reduced in Arunachal Pradesh.

The home ministry, which only last week notified a new division dedicated to women’s safety, said it had made the anti-rape law more stringent by providing for death penalty to rapists of girls below 12 years of age. Also, 33 per cent of the non-gazetted posts in the Central forces have been reserved for women.

As many as 94 per cent of the country’s police stations were now connected through the Crime and Criminals Tracking and Network System (CCTNS), as against 73 per cent in 2014. The home ministry also listed the cancellation of registration of 19,000 "defunct, non-complying" NGOs under the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act as an achievement.

