West Bengal tops in Maoist violence casualty

New Delhi : Maoist related violence has taken lives of about 1000 people, including civilians and security forces, over the past ten months of 2010, Union Home Ministry has said.

At least 577 civilians, 260 policemen and army personnel, besides about 137 suspected Maoist rebels have died in fighting between January and October.

The maximum civilian casualties have been reported from Marxist-ruled West Bengal state, the Home Ministry document said.

The insurgency-prone Chhattisgarh state topped the list of casualties of security force personnel with 163 deaths.

The authorities launched a major offensive last year to tackle the insurgency and violence in 15 states after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the Left ultras as the biggest internal security threat facing the country.