New Delhi: Two weeks after the controversial 'Naxal' encounter in Bijapur of Chhattisgarh, that allegedly left innocent villagers dead, the Union Home Ministry has finally woken up. It has called for a meeting of nine Naxal-affected states and the paramilitary forces to discuss the use of villagers as human shields by Naxals.
On the discussion table will be standard operating procedures to deal with human shields in Naxal operations.
The state and Central government had then argued that if villagers died in Bijapur, it was because they were used by Naxals as human shields. Rights groups and even some Congress leaders, however, rejected the argument.
Using night vision equipment or stopping all night operations are some of the suggestions that will likely be debated on Friday. But is there a practical solution to Bijapur-like situation?...
more
09:07 AM, Jul 13, 2012
