Army’s help needed in fight against Maoists: Raman Singh

RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Saturday reiterated that the army should be used for providing logistics support to the security forces fighting the Maoists.

“Fight against Maoists is going to be long drawn and the army should be used only for logistics support — including detecting landmines buried in jungle roads and providing highly skilled training to security men pitted against guerrillas,” Singh told newsmen here.

Commenting on reports that the state government had no control over several areas hit by Maoist violence, he said, “The government machinery has access to each and every place of the state.”

He said the government was committed to dealing with Maoists firmly.

“They (security men) are doing the job well, Maoists are losing their grip on their strongholds,” said Singh who is heading the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government since Dec 2003.

Chhattisgarh has been rocked by a series of blasts and gunfights in 2010. In the past three months, the state witnessed killings of over 150 people, mostly security personnel.