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Chhattisgarh Governor Ramen Deka on Sunday said violent ideologies are the biggest threat to democracy and security forces have "broken the backbone" of Maoists by eliminating them in their safest hideouts of the state in the last one year. In his Republic Day address at the Police Parade ground here, Deka also said his government's focus is on rapid economic growth of Chhattisgarh. There is a possibility of an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the state in the next five years, which will open employment opportunities for five lakh persons, he said. "The biggest threat to our republic is violent ideologies. For the past several years, the state has been struggling with the menace of Maoism. My government has worked hard to weaken Maoists by carrying out an intensive (anti-Maoist) campaign within a year," he said. "Our soldiers, full of enthusiasm and zeal, have broken the backbone of Maoists. They have killed Maoists in their safest hideouts," he added. In the areas where the lig
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has said Maoism is like cancer and there is need to strike at its root to end the menace. In the last one year, security forces have killed more than 230 Maoists in various encounters, Sai said addressing a function on Monday after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of several development projects in Sukma. "Maoism is like cancer. If cancer has to be eradicated, it is necessary to attack its root. Maoists had stuck like leeches in some areas of Bastar and were exploiting the people by intimidating them. These places were their safest hideouts. We decided to attack Maoists by entering their den," a government release quoted Sai as saying. "Maoists had thrown Sukma along with Bastar division into deadly violence. Due to this, the development of Sukma was badly affected. In the last one year, the government took many important decisions to develop Sukma and has implemented them rapidly," he said. Under a well-planned strategy, police .
The number of Naxalites killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has gone up to five with the recovery of one more body, police said on Monday. The gunfight broke out on Saturday evening at a forest in south Abujhmaad along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, an official said. Four Naxalites were found dead initially on Sunday, while one more body was recovered later, he said. With this, the number of Naxalites killed in the gun battle with the security personnel has risen to five, including two women, the official said. District Reserve Guard (DRG) head constable Sannu Karam was also killed in the gunfight. Search operation was still underway in the area, the official said. Personnel belonging to the DRG from four districts - Narayanpur, Bastar, Kondagaon and Dantewada - and the Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operation that was launched on
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the Maharashtra government's efforts to ensure all-round development in the state's remote and Maoist-affected areas. The prime minister's comments came a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Gadchiroli, a district affected by left wing extremism, and asserted that the dominance of Naxalites in remote areas of the district was ending. A number of Naxal cadres laid down their arms during his visit, with Fadnavis also unveiling several development initiatives. Modi said on X, "I laud the Maharashtra Government's efforts to ensure all-round development in remote and Maoist-affected areas. This will certainly boost 'Ease of Living' and pave the way for even more progress. A special congratulations to my sisters and brothers of Gadchiroli and the surrounding areas!" He was responding to a post by Fadnavis on his government's efforts to eliminate the violent movement from the region.
Originally a training centre of the CPI (Maoists) deep inside a jungle in Bijapur district, Gundam has turned into a formidable camp of the CRPF, serving as a nerve centre of anti-Naxal operations. A CRPF camp was set up in February in the hamlet after Naxals were driven out from this old den of theirs after months of struggle. While visiting the camp, Union Home Minister Amit Shah interacted with the security personnel, had lunch with them. He also told them that they would have to be tough with the Maoists, but must consider the needs of the local population. "If you face Naxals, confront them with toughest action but make sure that your action does not lead to any civilian getting annoyed," he said. Shah said that any local who comes to any camp must be offered help like medical care, or free food, or education for their children. "You have to make a friendship with the locals, win the trust and heart," he told the jawans. Security forces have opened 289 new camps in the ...
A CPI(Maoist) 'commander', who had a Rs 15 lakh bounty on his head, was killed in an internal feud of the proscribed organisation in Jharkhand's Latehar district, police said on Wednesday. Chotu Kherwar, the 'zonal commander' of Palamu division, was allegedly killed by other Maoists in Bhimpal forest in Chipadohar police station area on Tuesday night, they said. DIG (Palamu Range) YS Ramesh said that after receiving news about the incident, police personnel were sent to the remote location to retrieve the body. Kherwar was wanted in multiple criminal cases, police said. An investigation is underway to ascertain the exact cause of the death, they said.
G N Saibaba, who died due to post-operative complications last week, seven months after he was acquitted in a case alleging his Maoist links, was a person with enormous love for his country and should be seen as a hero, activist Harsh Mander said on Monday. At a memorial service held for the former Delhi University (DU) professor by the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), Mander and other activists also alleged that Saibaba's death was an "institutional murder" and that his health had deteriorated due to poor conditions in jail. Mander, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, described Saibaba as a professor who was loved by his students and a person concerned about injustice and inhumanity. "This became a reason for the establishment to accuse him of being a Maoist," he said. "There was no evidence of him having participated in any kind of violent activity," he added. Mander said Saibaba spent 10 years in jail, including the entire COVID-19 pand
A four-member group of suspected armed Maoists reached an area under Thalappuzha police station in this hill district on Wednesday morning, urging the people there to boycott the April 26 Lok Sabha polls. A police officer said a group of police personnel has gone to Kambamala after learning about the Maoist presence in the area. However, he did not elaborate. Meanwhile, locals said the Maoists reached the area around 6.15 am and raised slogans. The ultras also urged the people to boycott voting, they said. The Maoists were in their uniforms and were carrying guns. They spent around 20 minutes in the area, the locals added. A purported video of the Maoists interacting with the locals surfaced later. It also showed that there were people, mainly workers, at the junction at the time of their arrival.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case and set aise the life imprisonment imposed on him. A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes also acquitted five others accused in the case. The bench said it was acquitting all the accused as the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against them. It also held as "null and void" the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). While the prosecution did not seek the HC to stay its order, it said it was likely to file an appeal in the Supreme Court immediately. On October 14, 2022, another bench of the HC acquitted Saibaba, noting the trial proceedings were "null and void" in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA. The Maharashtra government had on the same day approached the Supreme Court challengi
Jharkhand police on Friday said 397 Maoists were arrested, nine killed, and 26 surrendered before security forces across the state this year. A special area committee member, a regional committee member, five zonal commanders, and 11 sub-zonal commanders were among those arrested. These individuals had a combined bounty of Rs 1.01 crore on their heads, a statement said. Police also seized 152 arms, including 27 police weapons, 10,350 ammunition, and 244 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) over the past 12 months. The state police headquarters released the data on the occasion of the Hemant Soren government's four-year anniversary. Police said over the past four years, 1,617 Naxals have been arrested, including members from banned outfits such as CPI (Maoist), People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), and Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP). Since January 1, 2020, a total of 74 Maoists surrendered before the security forces, and 792 arms
Members of the banned CPI (Maoist) blew up a portion of railway tracks in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, disrupting train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route for several hours, police said on Friday. At least 13 trains were cancelled and one has been diverted due to the incident, a railway official said. The incident occurred late Thursday night in the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway between Mahadevsal and Posoita stations, around 150 km from the state capital Ranchi, West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Sekhar said. "Security has been tightened in the locality. The repair work on the railway tracks has been started from early morning," he said, adding that Maoists also put up banners and posters in the area. Chakradharpur Division Assistant Commercial Manager Vinit Kumar told PTI that train operations in the division have been restored around 9 am on Friday. Around 10:08 pm on Thursday, an explosion occurred between Mahadevsal and Posoita station
At least four vehicles were torched and employees of a private firm assaulted at a railway construction site by members of the banned CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand's Latehar district, police said. The incident occurred near Chatti river bridge in Chandwa on Monday evening, they added. The police said a group of Maoists set three heavy vehicles and a car on fire and assaulted the employees of the firm. A team of police personnel reached the spot and started an investigation. The incident occurred exactly a month after six vehicles were torched and two employees of a private road construction company were assaulted by members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Palamu district.
At least six vehicles were set on fire and two employees of a private road construction company were assaulted by members of banned CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand's Palamu district, a senior police officer said on Thursday. The incident happened in the Haldiya Ghati area under the Chhatarpur Police Station limits, around 220 km from the state capital Ranchi, on Wednesday evening, he said. Around 15 Maoists reached at the road construction site and beat up two clerks of the company, Chhatarpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ajay Kumar told PTI. "Maoists also torched six vehicles, including trucks, engaged in the road construction," he said, adding that it was suspected that Maoists conducted the attack on the site for levy. "We are investigating the case and an operation has been initiated to nab the Maoists involved in the crime," he said.
The NIA has arrested one person in the CPI (Maoist) terror funding case in connection with efforts being made to revive the banned outfit in the Magadh zone of Bihar, an agency official said on Monday. The arrested accused, Anandi Paswan (46), has more than five criminal cases registered against him at various police stations of Bihar, a spokesperson for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said. The NIA said raids conducted on the premises of Paswan, a resident of Nirakhpur village in the Kinjar area of Arwal district, led to the seizure of illegal arms and ammunition on February 12 last year. Paswan is the fourth person to be arrested in the case, registered in 2021, related to the terror financing network being jointly operated by CPI (Maoist) cadres and overground workers (OGWs) in the Magadh region. The NIA had earlier nabbed Tarun Kumar, Pradyuman Sharma and Abhinav alias Gaurav. The agency chargesheeted two accused in the case on January 20. "NIA investigations so far ha
Security forces have arrested three Maoists and recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by them on a road in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, police said on Sunday. Two of them were carrying rewards of Rs 8 lakh each on their heads, they said. A joint team of the District Reserve Guard and the Central Reserve Police Force's 30th battalion launched a search/area domination operation from the CRPF's Chilparas camp in the district on Friday. "During the operation, the security forces spotted three persons in a forested patch under Koilibead police station limits. They were arrested while they were trying to run away after seeing the police," Superintendent of Police Shalabh Kumar Sinha said. A walkie-talkie set, a torch and Rs 6,000 cash were recovered from their possession, he said. Based on information given by them, an IED which they had planted on Chilparas Dudta road was found with a wire attached, the official said. The three accused have been identified as Peelu
A large amount of explosives suspected to have been dumped by the Maoists along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha has been seized, police said. Acting on a tip-off, police seized 50 kg of explosive codex wire, 100 detonators and 15 radio sets in Lamataput area in Koraput district, Superintendent of Police Avinav Sonkar said. He said the explosives are suspected to have been dumped by the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit for future use against security forces.