**The Indian government has agreed on a new tactic to fight Maoists who are operating in several states.**Officials said state police were to take the lead and coordinate operations against the Maoists, while central forces were only to lend assistance.
The decision came hours after at least 17 policemen were killed in a battle with Maoist insurgents in the western state of Maharashtra.
India says the Maoists pose its biggest security threat.
They operate in many states and say they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless.
Remanded
In the latest attack on Thursday evening, a group of Maoists attacked a police station in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra.
At least 17 policemen, including a top commander, were killed in the battle. It was not clear whether the rebels suffered any casualties.
The rebels killed 16 police personnel in a gun battle in Gadchiroli district in May. Fifteen officers were killed in the same district in February.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told police chiefs last month that a campaign against the rebels had failed to produce results.
Thousands of people have died in the insurgency the Maoists launched in the 1960s.
On Wednesday Home Minister P Chidambaram warned the rebels to abandon violence or face a major assault by security forces following the beheading of the police officer.
In September Kobad Ghandy, one of the Maoists’ most senior leaders, was arrested in Delhi. A court in Delhi has remanded him in custody for another week.