Following reports that Naxalites had expanded their activities to seven more districts of the state, the Uttar Pradesh Government has set up a separate Special Task Force (Extremists), to be headed by a DIG-rank officer, to tackle the problem. Earlier, Naxalite activities were confined to Sonebhadra, Mirzapur and Chandauli districts of Uttar Pradesh. However, now central agencies have noticed their presence in seven other districts, including Allahabad, Chitrakoot, Deoriya, Banda and Ballia.“The problem is acute in Allahabad and Chitrakoot districts as the Naxalites here have almost completed their preliminary stage of growth and now have their units,” a source said. The authorities fear that Ballia would be high on the Naxal agenda given that it shares a border with Bihar’s Buxar district, which is also highly Naxalite infested. They are expected to target Ballia’s Scheduled Castes, in the name of breaking the existing feudal base in the district. “It would also not be tough for the Naxalite leadership to expand their base to Ballia’s neighbouring district Ghazipur, as the latter has been a stronghold of the Communist movement in the past,” the source explained.The fears of Naxalite expansion in Uttar Pradesh have been confirmed by several arrests in the past few days from different parts of the state.“The arrested cadres informed interrogators about their efforts to take left-wing extremism to remote areas. The Bundelkhand region comprising Chitrakoot, Banda and Mahoba has been their target for a long time. They also see the potential to take their movement to Jhansi,” the source added. As for Allahabad, the authorities think the main draw may be the Shankargarh area, which is considered a den for manufacture of illegal explosives. “The availability of explosive materials is easy because of mining works,” said the source.
