Raipur, June 22: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Naxalites won’t get rest during monsoon as operations against them will continue during rains, even as he ruled out talks and appealed to the ultras to lay down arms and join the journey of development.
Since January last year, more than 400 Maoist ultras have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in the state, the most notable being the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), the general secretary and top most operative of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), in Bastar on May 21.
“Every time during monsoon, Naxalites used to get rest (as swollen rivers hamper anti-Naxal operations inside dense forest). But this time, we will not let them sleep during monsoon and we will move further to achieve the target of 31/3 (2026 to eliminate Naxalism)”, Shah said.
He appealed to Naxals to surrender, join the journey of development and avail of the benefits of a “lucrative” surrender policy.
“No need for talks. Just give up armed struggle and join the mainstream. I wholeheartedly welcome all those who have laid down arms and joined the mainstream and assure them whatever promises the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre have made to them will be fulfilled. We will try to help you even more,” he added.
Speaking after laying the foundation stones for the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) campus and a Central Forensic Science Lab in Chhattisgarh’s Nava Raipur Atal Nagar, he said the complete implementation of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will make India’s criminal justice system the most modern, speedy and scientific justice system in the world.
“The country will enter into an era of more evidence-based criminal justice. After complete implementation of three criminal laws, any FIR registered in any corner of our country will ensure justice to the complainant and the victim up to the Supreme Court within 3 years. There will be no delay in justice for more than three years,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2047 not only focuses on innovation, infrastructure, industrial and economic progress but also ensuring timely justice and the three new laws will help in this regard, he said.
“There was a time when arguments for justice were based on feelings or imagination and evidence, but I believe that where there is proof, scientific evidence, only then the accurate result comes. With the help of FSL (forensic science lab), India will be among the countries with the highest conviction rate in the world in a few years,” he said.
The new laws make it mandatory for the forensic science team to visit the scene of any crime in which the punishment is more than seven years, Shah said. (PTI)
