Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan has hit out at social activists for supporting Maoists and their activities.

Ranjan was quite critical in his views on renowned author-turned social activist Arundhati Roy, who has openly opposed police action against the ultras.

"I believe that people who talk a lot about Maoists don't have the courage to hold a gun and go into the jungle, or those people, who talk while sitting in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi, Calcutta and Mumbai, they do not have the courage to go to Maoist regions," said Ranjan.

"We don't need to take them very seriously. The people will soon dismiss Arundhati Roy," he added, while talking to the media after delivering the valedictory address at the 40th All India Police Science Congress.

The DGP defended the state's police personnel and said that despite several odds, they were tackling the Maoist menace.

"The solution for us is how we need to deal with it and how important it is. We have looked at the old and new experiences of states like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal and how Maoists have been moving closer towards violent activities," said Ranjan.

"We talk about development on one hand and it becomes important on the other hand to see how to fight with them and save the democratic system. Such fights can only be dealt with by the police," he added.

The top brass of the police from various states took part in the three-day conference hosted by the New Delhi-based bureau of Police Research and Development in association with the Chhattisgarh police.

The participants discussed the modernisation of police forces and application of data-management in their functioning.