Updated on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, April 23: Incidents of violence by Naxalites and casualties in their attacks registered a rise in 2007 compared to the previous year with Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa together accounting for over 80 per cent of the cases.

The Union Home Ministry admitted in its status paper on Naxal activities that 696 casualties were reported last year in 1,565 incidents compared to 678 deaths in 1,509 cases of violence in 2006.

However, the number of police stations affected in 2007 fell to 361 compared to 395 in the previous year, the special document on Naxal violence as on march 31 this year said.

The Home Ministry said the four worst-hit states accounted for 1,266 incidents. Likewise, out of the total casualty of 696, the four states together claimed 610 lives.

The report said Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand together accounted for 68 per cent of the total incidents and over 75 per cent of the total casualties in 2007.

The higher number of incidents and casualties in the two states have been attributed to increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and landmines by Naxalities, attacks on security forces and counter operations by security forces against the ultras.

Concerned over the mounting attacks, the security establishment has asked the states to secure police station buildings, strengthen state intelligence set-ups and raise specialised units or task forces trained in counter-insurgency and jungle warfare.

Bureau Report