A first-time concerted crackdown has been launched against 'overground' Maoist supporters in various states and about 500 such people have been apprehended by the security forces in Chhattisgarh alone over the last one year, the chief of country's lead anti-Naxal operations force, the CRPF, has said.


CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar told PTI in an interview that this fresh action is being undertaken by them in coordination with state police forces with an aim to deny 'space' to the Left Wing Extremists and to counter them beyond the field operations.


The Central Reserve Police Force has deployed close to a lakh armed personnel and a heavy assortment of weapons and gadgets to tackle the Left Wing Extremism in various states of the country.


"We are now going to the villages and we are trying to see that action is taken against their (Maoists) overground supporters and workers, 'jan militia' and other people who give them the intelligence and local support. 

-- PTI