Stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir, Maoist insurgency in Central India and militancy in Northeast India took a sharp hit by demonetisation, even as Pakistan increased ceasefire violations along the Line of Control by almost double, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said note ban, which was aimed at curbing black money and terrorism, was successful in hurting violent elements domestically.
Ahir told the Lower House that incidents of stone throwing had reduced considerably in Jammu and Kashmir. “..the overall security situation in the country post demonetisation has shown improvement,” he said in reply to a written question.
He said ₹90 lakh had been seized from Maoist cadres and supporters in Maoist-affected areas after the government scrapped ₹1,000 and ₹500 notes on November 8, 2016.
As many as 564 Maoist cadres and sympathisers surrendered during the period from November 8 to November 29, 2016.
The Minister said insurgency in the Northeast was at a low ebb in many States. There were 857 incidents of Maoist violence from November 1, 2016, to October 31, 2017 in comparison to 1,078 in the same period the previous year.
There were 323 militancy-related incidents in the Northeast between November 1, 2016, to October 31, 2017 in comparison to 507 in the same period of the previous year, the Minister added.
Pakistan increases ceasefire violation, terror activities
While demonetisation made the life of militants difficult within India, Pakistan doubled up the attacks on border areas.
Pakistan violated the ceasefire a total of 881 times along LoC and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir this year, killing 30 people.
MoS Home said Pakistan has violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir 771 times till December 10, and 110 times along the IB till November-end.
In these incidents of firing from across the border, 30 people - 14 Army personnel, 12 civilians and four BSF personnel - were killed.
No cross-border firing has been reported in other states except Jammu and Kashmir along the border with Pakistan, he said.
Also read: 190 militants killed in Kashmir this year: Top Army official
The truce between India and Pakistan along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir came into force in November 2003.
India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LoC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2016, there were 449 incidents of ceasefire violations in which 13 civilians and 13 security personnel were killed and 83 civilians and 99 security personnel were injured.
In 2017, Pakistan violated ceasefire 771 times along the LoC while the figure stood at 228 last year. There were 153 violations in 2014.
The government also released data on the impact of demonetisation on terror incidents, which showed an increase Jammu and Kashmir in 2017 in comparison to last year. There were 341 terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir from November 1, 2016, to October 31, 2017 in comparison to 311 in the corresponding period the previous year.
Also read: Indian Army equipped with adequate stocks of ammunition, MoS Defence tells Parliament
