Chhatisgarh

Chhattisgarh CM opens military exhibition, encourages youth to join forces

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday inaugurated an exhibition in Raipur showcasing the valour of the armed forces and said seeing soldiers in uniform was sure to spark feelings of patriotism in all citizens. Lauding the huge turnout for the exhibition being held at Science College ground here, Sai said the Indian Army is renowned globally for its discipline and efficiency and is regarded as one of the strongest militaries in the world. The army plays a pivotal role in not only in defending the country from external threats but also in maintaining internal security and providing vital assistance during natural disasters, he added. The exhibition features cutting-edge military equipment, including the Bhishma T-90 tank, BMP, L-70 and other advanced weaponry used by the armed forces. Visitors can also enjoy thrilling displays such as para jumping, Khukuri dancing, daredevil motorcycling and horse riding, officials said. "Youth must consider careers in the armed ...

1,500 security personnel eliminate 31 Naxals in 48-hour op in Chhattisgarh

A 10-km motorcycle ride through fields and dirt track followed by a 12-km climb of a hilly terrain take one to the site of Chhattisgarh's most successful counter-insurgency operation that eliminated 31 Naxalites. About 1,500 security personnel covered this arduous route as part of their 48-hour operation in the forest along Narayanpur and Dantewada districts border to inflict a crushing blow to Maoists, said officials on Saturday. This was the highest number of fatalities suffered by Maoists in a single operation since the state's creation 24 years ago and the offensive comes more than five months after 29 Naxalites, including higher-ranking cadres, were neutralised in an encounter with security personnel in Kanker district. Nearly 1,500 jawans of District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Dantewada and Narayanpur and Special Task Force were involved in the offensive, Dantewada Additional Superintendent of Police RK Barman told PTI. The crackdown was launched based on inputs about the prese

25 Naxalites, including 5 with bounty of Rs 28 lakh surrender in Bijapur

Twenty-five Naxalites, five of them carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 28 lakh on their heads, surrendered in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh on Monday, a senior police official said. The 25 ultras, who were active in Gangloor and Bhairamgarh area committees of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), include two women, the official added. "The two women, Shambati Madkam (23) and Jyoti Punem (27), and Mahesh Telam were active in company no. 2 of the Maoists and carried rewards of Rs 8 lakh each on their heads. Madkam was active in the movement since 2012 and was allegedly involved in the 2020 Minpa ambush in Sukma in which 17 personnel lost their lives. She was also involved in the Tekalgudem (Bijapur) attack in which 22 security personnel were killed in 2021," said Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav. "Punem and Telam were allegedly involved in an encounter in Pidia village in Bijapur in May this year in which 12 Naxalites were gunned down. Vishnu Kartam .

Chhattisgarh govt recommends CBI probe into Mahadev betting app scam cases

The Chhattisgarh government has decided to transfer cases related to the alleged Mahadev betting app scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said on Monday. The government issued a notification approving the CBI probe last week, he said. The alleged scam became the focal point of the BJP's campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in Chhattisgarh as prominent accused named in the FIR include former chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel among others. Notably, the Enforcement Directorate has been probing money laundering cases linked to the Mahadev app scam, which came to light when the Baghel-led Congress government was in power, for more than a year. "70 cases related to the alleged Mahadev app scam were lodged at different police stations in Chhhattisgarh and one case is with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). We have decided to hand over all these cases to the CBI and a notification has been issued," Sharma told reporters.

ED arrests two in money laundering case linked to Chhattisgarh liquor scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has arrested two liquor businessmen in connection with its money laundering probe into an alleged excise scam of Chhattisgarh that is estimated to have generated over Rs 2,100 crore of slush funds. Arvind Singh and Trilok Singh Dhillon were arrested on July 1 at the central jail in Raipur and later a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent them to ED custody till July 6, the federal probe agency said in a statement. The two were lodged in jail after the Chhattisgarh Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested them in the case sometime back. The money laundering case of the ED stemmed from an EOW/ACB FIR filed in January and had named 70 individuals and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, former chief secretary Vivek Dhand and others. The alleged scam, where the ED has pegged the proceeds of crime at Rs 2,161 crore, purportedly took place between 2019-2022 when the Congress was in power in

8-term Chhatisgarh MLA Brijmohan Agrawal resigns after being elected to LS

Chhattisgarh minister and MLA Brijmohan Agrawal on Monday resigned from the state Assembly after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Raipur in the recent general elections. Agrawal submitted his resignation to Speaker Raman Singh at the latter's residence in the presence of BJP leaders. Singh said Agrawal's resignation from the Assembly has been accepted. "It is an emotional moment for me as I have been an MLA in undivided Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh without a break for 35 years. In Parliament, I will raise issues of Chhattisgarh's development," Agrawal told reporters. He said he was starting a new innings with the blessings of everybody, adding that he had no regrets about anything. Agrawal won the Raipur Lok Sabha seat by defeating Congress's Vikas Upadhyay by a record margin of 5,75,285 votes. An eight term MLA, Agrawal had won from Raipur City South assembly seat in the 2023 polls with the highest victory margin of 67,719 votes. He has been undefeated in polls since 1990.

2024 Lok Sabha elections: Deo Sai looks to maintain Raigarh momentum

For the 2024 elections, BJP has fielded Radheshyam Rathiya against Congress' Menka Devi Singh

Nine MLAs to be constituted in Chhatisgarh cabinet today: CM Vishnu Deo Sai

Vishnu Deo won four consecutive Lok Sabha elections from the Raigarh constituency from 1999 to 2014

The Rise of Vishnu Deo Sai: Chhattisgarh's New Chief Minister

Two security personnel injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma

Two security personnel were injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites exploded in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Monday, police said. The blast occurred at around 10.15 am in Kistaram police station area, where a joint team of security personnel was patrolling to provide security to a road construction work, an official said. Personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force's 217th battalion, 208th battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA - an elite unit of the CRPF) and district force were involved in the operation, he said. Patrolling was launched from Dabbamarka police camp to provide security to the road construction work in Saltong village. When the team was cordoning off the area near Saltong, two personnel came in contact with the pressure IED connection, triggering the blast, the official said. The two injured personnel were provided preliminary treatment and were being shifted to a hospital, he said. Se

Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: Women outnumber men in voting in state

A total of 15.5 million voters cast their votes in all 90 Assemblies, out of which, 7.81 million were women, and 7.74 lakh were men

Officer drains 2.1 mn lt water to retrieve iPhone; suspended, asked to pay

In Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, a food inspector, Rajesh Vishwas drained a reservoir over three days to retrieve his iPhone, causing much controversy and uproar among the public

10 security staff, 1 civilian killed in Maoist attack in Dantewada

Ten police personnel and a driver were killed in a blast carried out by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday, officials said. The incident took place under Aranpur police station limits when a team of the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) was returning after an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior official said. The area is located around 450 km from state capital Raipur. Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said. Further details were awaited.

Posturing to maintain balance on Congress' seesaw in Chhattisgarh

T S Singh Deo reminds central party of its promise to make him CM for half the government's term. But Bhupesh Baghel deflects it. R Krishna Das on the political rumblings

Plans afoot to step up natural paint output from cow dung in Chhattisgarh

Paint manufacturing from cow dung was started in selective Gauthans (cattle-sheds) set up by the state government under the scheme

Chhattisgarh court sends IAS officer, 2 others to custody in extortion case

A special court here on Thursday sent an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and two others, including a businessman, to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to alleged extortion of money from coal and mining transporters in Chhattisgarh. IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, businessman Sunil Agrawal and advocate Laxmikant Tiwari were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 13 following their questioning after the agency launched multi-city raids in the state on October 11. The accused were produced before the court of additional district and sessions judge Ajay Singh Rajput on Thursday on expiry of their ED custody, Tiwari's lawyer Faizal Rizvi said. He said the court sent them to 14-day judicial custody and they will be kept in jail. On October 13, the court had allowed custodial interrogation of the trio by the ED for eight days and on October 21 extended their remand for six more days. The trio was arrested under the Prevention of Money ...

Vedanta arm Balco wins bid for 900 mn tonne coal block in Chhattisgarh

Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday said that its arm Balco has won the bid for a coal block in Chhattisgarh. The company emerged as successful bidder for the mine during the fourth round of commercial coal mine auction conducted by the government. "The coal block is an optimal fit for Balco, given its logistical location," Vedanta said in a filing to BSE. Once operational, the mine will provide fuel security, enhance power availability, and further strengthen Balco's operations and performance. The block has estimated reserves of 900 million tonnes. Balco was incorporated in 1965 as the first public sector undertaking in the country. In 2001 the Centre disinvested 51 per cent shares of Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited. The remaining 49 per cent is with the Centre.

BJP learning from Chhattisgarh development model of Congress: CM Baghel

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel slammed the Bhartiya Janata Party and said that the BJP chief JP Nadda was visiting Chhattisgarh to study the development model of the Congress government in the state.

PM Modi greets people of Odisha, Chhattisgarh on occasion of Nuakhai Juhar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted the people on the occasion of Nuakhai Juhar, a harvest festival celebrated in parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. "Nuakhai Juhar! Best wishes to everyone on this special day. This is an occasion to express gratitude to our hardworking farmers for their exemplary work in feeding our nation. May our society scale new heights of progress and may everyone be happy as well as healthy," Modi tweeted. The festival is celebrated on the next day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Chhattisgarh minister Deo's gaffe embarrasses Congress; BJP hits out at CM

Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo's gaffe while describing the financial condition of the state in a video has left the Bhupesh Baghel government embarrassed, while the opposition BJP alleged financial mismanagement and hurled "Mr Bantadhar" (spoilsport) jibe at the chief minister. In the video, Singh Deo can be heard saying the state government has no "aukat" (status) to hike allowances of the protesting employees as it had already given Rs 40,000 crore to them. Facing flak, Singh Deo later expressed regret for the mistake in choosing the word and said the BJP should cooperate with the Chhattisgarh government by asking the central government to release the funds it owes to the state in the interest of the people. The senior Congress leader, locked in a turf war with Chief Minister Baghel, had last month relinquished the Panchayat and Rural Development ministry, one of the four portfolios held by him. More than four lakh employees and officials of the Chhattisgarh governmen