Maoist activities on steep rise in India

NEW DELHI, April 24 (UPI) -- India said the threat to internal security from left-wing extremism showed a steep rise in 2007.

The Interior Ministry said in its status paper on Maoist activities that 696 casualties were reported in 1,565 incidents in 2007; in 2006, there were 678 deaths in 1,509 cases of violence.

The document expressed concern over vacancies in state police forces and noted that such vacancies need to be filled to improve the police-population ratio.

The higher number of incidents and casualties in the two worst-hit states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have been attributed to the increased use of improvised-explosive devices and landmines by the rebels, attacks on security forces and counter-operations by security forces against the rebels, the ministry said.

Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand accounted for 68 percent of all incidents and more than 75 percent of all casualties in 2007.

The document said Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa together account for more than 80 percent of the cases, adding these states saw 1,266 incidents.