File picture New Delhi, Feb. 19: Security agencies have warned the central government that the banned CPI Maoist has raised a Bastar Tiger Battalion in its Chhattisgarh stronghold to counter the paramilitary CRPF's specialised Bastariya force, a tribal-only unit to fortify the fight against the rebels. The report also suggested a decline in Maoist-related violence in other parts of the country over the past year. Sources in the CRPF said the training of the newly raised battalion was almost over. In 2015, 49 security personnel were killed in Maoist violence while the corresponding figure in 2104 was 64. "The outfit's activities in Bihar-Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha had been significantly hit by the scrapping of high-value currency notes.

Source: The Telegraph February 19, 2017 21:48 UTC