Form ED-FIU-IT group to probe Maoist funding, Shinde urges Shah

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday urged the Centre to form a group comprising the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, and the Financial Intelligence Unit to probe the funding of Maoist groups in the country.

Every year, billions of rupees are being sent to the Maoists, while "urban naxalism" is being propagated through the Internet and social media for which effective mechanisms must be created to stop it, he claimed at a meeting organised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue of Maoism.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik, DGP Rajnish Seth and others were present from the state.

The CM said that in the past one year, Maoism is being curbed in Maharashtra due to effective implementation of various developmental schemes in the affected areas.

"We will soon succeed in completely eradicating Naxalism (Maoists) from areas like Gadchiroli… Operations to weaken the grip of Naxalites will intensify in the next two years," he said at the meeting.

For the development of the Maoist-hit areas, the CM urged the need to expand the railway network in the regions bordering Gadchiroli like Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

"If the railway network from Mancherial in Telangana to Sironcha and then from Bhopalpatnam in Chhattisgarh to Jagdalpur, and similarly, from Aheri to Shirpur (Kagaznagar) is developed, it will benefit the Surjagad iron project and overall development," he said.

Referring to the issue of police officials injured during anti-Maoist operations who needed urgent medical attention, the CM called for permitting night-landings for helicopters to facilitate such rescue missions, on the lines of the armed forces.

To leading the battle against Maoists, Shinde said that a Special Task Force, Special Intelligence Bureau, fortified police stations, including 20 in Gadchiroli district, are being enhanced with special facilities at a cost of Rs 61.35 crore.

The capacity of the Special Task Force is being enhanced with an expenditure of Rs 12 crore and approval has been give for 500 staff and 25 officers, while their building will be ready by March 2025.

He added that presently, 49 per cent of the 'active' Maoist cadres in Maharashtra are from Chhattisgarh, and there are 4 Joint Task Force camps on the border between the two states, and more efforts are underway with the cooperation of the Centre on this count.