HM Amit Shah in Chhattisgarh: Forensic education, Maoist crackdown on agenda
Raipur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah begins his two-day visit to Chhattisgarh on Sunday, with a packed itinerary focusing on forensic science education and internal security operations.
HM Shah is scheduled to arrive at Raipur Airport around 1.40 p.m. He will head directly to Naya Raipur, where he will attend a 'Bhoomi Pujan' ceremony at 2 p.m., followed by the foundation stone laying of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) campus at 3.15 p.m.
The upcoming NFSU Raipur campus will be constructed on a 40-acre site at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore. Although the permanent infrastructure will take time to complete, academic sessions are expected to begin in 2025-26 from a temporary facility, for which HM Shah will lay the foundation today. Originally established as the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University in 2008, NFSU was upgraded to a national institution through an Act of Parliament in 2020.
It offers specialised courses in forensic science, investigative techniques, and criminology. Notably, in 2023, it expanded its global footprint by opening its first overseas campus in Uganda.
Union Home Minister Shah is also scheduled to chair a meeting in Raipur with Directors General and Additional Directors General of Police from neighbouring states to review inter-state security coordination. Later in the evening, he will also hold a review meeting on the anti-Maoist campaign in Chhattisgarh.
On June 23, he will travel to Narayanpur, where he is expected to meet personnel at the BSF (Border Security Force) camp at 1.45 p.m. to review anti-Naxal operations. His return to Raipur is scheduled for 3.20 p.m., with departure set for 4.30 p.m.
HM Shah's visit underscores the Centre's focus on strengthening forensic capabilities and reviewing on-ground security efforts in Naxal-affected regions.
The Union Home Minister's two-day tour of Chhattisgarh signals renewed political and operational focus on the state's long-standing battle against Naxalism.
Following key engagements on Sunday, HM Shah is slated to visit the Abujhmad region on June 23, where he will interact directly with local villagers -- an area symbolically and strategically significant in the government's anti-Naxal campaign. This visit comes barely three months after his previous appearance in the state, when he attended the Pandum closing ceremony in Bastar and chaired a crucial meeting in Raipur with top officials of the CRPF, BSF, and police to assess counterinsurgency progress.
HM Shah has maintained that Naxalism will be eradicated from the country by March 31, 2026 -- a deadline now less than a year away. With the BJP government under Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai intensifying its operations, the past few months have seen a notable surge in encounters, with over 400 Naxals reportedly neutralised since the government took charge.
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