Six of the eight Naxalites killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district two days back were senior rank cadres and carried cumulative cash rewards of Rs 48 lakh, police said. These cadres belonged to the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) military company no. 1 of Naxalites and Maad division supply team formations, they said. This is the second major success of the Maad Bachao Abhiyan' (anti-Naxalite operation) of Narayanpur police within a week and the fourth major success in 45 days, Inspector General of Police, Bastar range, Sundarraj P said in a press conference here on Sunday. Abhujmaad (in Narayanpur district) had been suffering from Naxal violence and fear for 40 years but now the natives, tribals and villagers are imagining it free from violence, fear and Naxalism. Successful anti-Naxal campaigns have been speeding up development, he said. Police on Saturday claimed to have gunned down eight Naxalites during an encounter in fore
Six Naxalites killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district two days back were dreaded cadres carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 38 lakh, according to police. This operation is so far the biggest attack by security forces on People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) company no. 6, which is considered a pillar of the attacking force of Naxalites, the police said on Saturday. It has created an atmosphere of fear among Naxalites in east Bastar division, which is considered their strong formation, the police said. The encounter took place near Gobel and Thulthuli villages under Orcha police station limits on Friday. While police earlier said seven Naxalites were killed, they later revised the toll to six, that included three women. The deceased belonged to military company number 6 of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) and east Bastar division formations of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist), a police official said. "The ...
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the Naxal problem in the country will end in the next two-to-three years, and except for a small pocket in Chhattisgarh the whole country is now free from the menace. In an interview with PTI late Saturday, Shah also said that there is no presence of the Maoists in the so-called Naxal corridor from Pashupatinath to Tirupati. "Naxals were eliminated from all over the country. Once some people used to say about the Naxal corridor from Pashupatinath to Tirupati. Now, Jharkhand is completely free from Naxals. Bihar is completely free. Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also completely free. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are also free," he said. Shah said the Naxals were still operating in some pockets of Chhattisgarh and could not be eliminated there so far as there was a Congress government in the state in the last five years. He said since a BJP government has assumed power in the state five months ago, work to free Chhattisgarh from the
The exchange of fire broke out when security personnel were cordoning off the forest on Bijapur-Narayanpur border on Thursday and the intermittent firing lasted till evening, an official said
The gunfight took place at around 2 pm in Hapatola forest between Binagunda and Koronar villages under Chhotebethiya police station limits
Four Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Tuesday, police said. The gun battle took place in a forest near Lendra village under Gangaloor police station area at around 6 am, when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI. Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were involved in the operation, he said. After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of four Naxalites along with a light machine gun and other weapons were recovered from the spot, the official said. Search operation was still underway in the area, he added. Bijapur is located more than 400 km away from state capital Raipur. With this incident, 37 naxalites have been killed in separate encounters with security forces in Bastar region, comprising s
A local worker of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was killed by suspected Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday evening, police said. This was the seventh killing of a BJP leader or member by suspected Naxalites in Maoist-affected areas of the state in the last one year. The incident took place around 8 pm at Toynar village when Tirupati Katla, a BJP member of the Janpad Panchayat, was attending a wedding, a senior official said. As Katla left the venue of the function, he was attacked with sharp-edged weapons. He was shifted to the Bijapur district hospital where he succumbed to injuries, the official added. Ahead of the assembly polls in November, Ratan Dubey, the BJP's Narayanpur district unit vice president, was hacked to death while he was campaigning. On October 20 last year, BJP worker Birju Taram was shot dead at Sarkheda village in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district. In June 2023, a local BJP leader was killed by Naxalites in Bijapur district
A head constable of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was on Sunday killed after a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in the state's Bijapur district, police said. The incident occurred at around 3.30 pm near Bechapal Padampara village under Mirture Mirtur police station limits in the Naxal-hit district when a team of CAF was out on an area domination operation, an official said. The operation was launched from Bechapal police camp towards Kutulpara village, he said. When the patrolling team was advancing through the area near the camp, Head Constable Ram Ashish Yadav, belonging to CAF's 19th battalion, inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED connection triggering the blast, resulting in his death, he said. The body of the martyred personnel was shifted to Mirtur, the official said, adding that a search operation was underway in Mirtur area.
A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Saturday, a police official said. The face-off took place around 6 am in a forest near Burklanka village within the jurisdiction of Bheji police station during an anti-Naxal operation by the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan told PTI. After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Naxalite along with a muzzle-loading gun was recovered from the spot, he said. The identity of the Naxalite was yet to be ascertained, he said, adding that a search operation was still underway in the area.
A 14-member police team conducting a combing operation in a dense forest area in this north Kerala district got lost during their return journey but was rescued early Wednesday morning by the Forest department's rapid response team. The police team, which also included the Agali DySP, had gone to the Attappady forest after getting information about cannabis cultivation going on there. The team found the cannabis cultivation and destroyed it, but the operation took time and it got dark while returning which resulted in them getting lost deep inside the forest, the DySP told the media. He said that mobile networks were not available in many places and when they got connectivity, they informed the Forest department which dispatched a Rapid Response Team (RRT). "The RRT team reached us around 1 am and then using GPS helped us come out of the forest," the DySP said. He also said that there were wild animal-related problems, but the team was prepared to handle them. A member of the RRT
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Wednesday said Naxalites have become frustrated as the Bharatiya Janata Party's "double engine" government has intensified the fight against the Naxal menace. He was talking to reporters after paying homage to the three personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who lost their lives in an encounter with Naxalites along the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts of the state on Tuesday. Fifteen other personnel were injured in the incident. The wreath laying ceremony for the martyred personnel was held at the camp of the 201st battalion of CRPF's CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) unit at Karanpur village in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district. Sai said since the "double engine" government (of the BJP in the state and at the Centre) has been formed after his party came to power in Chhattisgarh, the fight against Naxalites has been intensified due to which they have become frustrated. "In Tekalgudem, a new
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Maharashtra government and the NIA on a plea by Delhi University's associate professor and Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Hany Babu against an order of the Bombay High Court which rejected his bail plea. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Karol issued notice to the state government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed by Babu and sought their response within three weeks. The high court on September 19, 2022 had rejected the bail plea filed by Babu. The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the case, has accused Babu of being a co-conspirator in propagating Maoist activities and ideology on the instructions of leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation. Babu was arrested in July 2020 in the case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held in Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 3
Suspected Naxalites set afire at least 14 vehicles and machines engaged in construction works in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Monday, police said. No person was reported to be injured in the incident, which took place at around 1.30 am at Bangali camp under Bhansi police station limits, a senior police official said. As per eyewitnesses, 40 to 50 unidentified people, clad as civilians and a few of them armed, reached the spot and set ablaze 14 vehicles and machines, including trucks, poclain and earth moving machines, parked there, he said. While 13 vehicles and machines, belonging to a private construction firm, were engaged in road construction between Dantewada and Bacheli, a water tanker was engaged in railway works, he said. Soon after being alerted, a police team led by Bhansi station house officer went to the spot, he said. "Prima facie it seems to be the handiwork of Naxalites and search operation is underway in the area to trace the culprits," the official ...
Chhattisgarh elections: Former CM Raman Singh said that an immediate investigation into the Jheeram Ghati Maoist attack would be undertaken if the Bharatiya Janata Party comes into power
Naxalites on Thursday triggered two low intensity IED blasts in Dhamtari in Chhattisgarh a day ahead of the second and final phase of Assembly polls in the state, police officials said. No one was hurt in the blasts that took place in the afternoon on Khallari-Gatapur road under Sihawa Assembly seat when security personnel were out on a de-mining exercise in view of polling on Friday, a senior police official said. "The twin blasts took place far away from the patrolling team. No one was hurt in the blasts that were of low intensity. Later, security personnel recovered a 5-kilogram improvised explosive device from the area," he said. "The team for Khallari polling station had reached their destination much before the incident," he added. Sihawa, located some 150 kilometres away from capital Raipur, shares a border with Naxalite-affected Kanker, Kondagaon and Gariaband districts as well as with Odisha. Sihawa is among the 70 seats where polling will be held in the second phase, the
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the people of Chhattisgarh should vote to form a "double-engine" government (the BJP at the Centre and in Chhattisgarh)
Voting for the first phase of the Chattisgarh Assembly polls for 20 seats in the state's southern region began on Tuesday morning amid tight security
Chhattisgarh Assembly elections: Around 60,000 security personnel will be deployed in the Bastar division, consisting of 12 Assembly segments
The Naxalites killed a 40-year-old man, accusing him of being a police informer, and warned election officials not to visit polling booths to conduct voting on November 7
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to deploy women commandos of Bastar Fighters in 35 polling stations in Maoist-hit Bastar division on November 7