PM warns states against suicide attack

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has warned the country of increasing suicide attacks asking the states to do more to fight terror.

Just five months ago, Manmohan Singh described the Naxal menace as ‘the biggest internal security challenge ever faced by the country'.

Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Andhra Pradesh are among the worst hit by the Naxal menace. This year 460 people have been killed in Naxal-related violence across 13 states.

According to Home Ministry figures, 222 people have died so far in Chattisgarh. At present there are there are around 30 battalions of para-military forces in the state.

Neighbouring Jharkhand is also among the worst hit. In the last eight months 62 lives have been lost here.

In Andhra Pradesh, the anti-Naxal forces have carried out 119 encounters. The conflict has killed 66 so far.

Till August 2006, Bihar has lost 36 lives and Maharashtra has had a casualty of 42 lives.

Other states facing the Naxal violence are West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.

While Naxal violence remains a serious threat to internal security, there are other problem areas as well. In Jammu and Kashmir in the first five months of year 2006 a total of 420 people have lost their lives. This includes 147 civilians and 56 security force personnel.

Moving to the northeast, insurgency related violence in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland has come down largely due to the dialogue process progressing on several fronts.

The recent Mumbai blasts have also highlighted threat from home-grown terror outfits.

The recent arrests and arms haul in cities like Aurangabad and Nashik are a case in point. The PM, in fact, warned of terrorist modules and sleeper cells that exist in some of our urban areas.

Fighting terror is a long-drawn affair and we still have a long way to go.