Security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district recovered a significant cache of cash, arms, and ammunition from Maoist hideouts, acting on information from surrendered Naxalites.
Results and trends from recent bypolls across eight assembly seats in India show wins for MNF in Mizoram, BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, and Congress leading in Telangana and Rajasthan.
Forty-one Naxalites, including 32 carrying a reward of Rs 1.19 crore, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, citing the government's surrender policy and rehabilitation efforts.
The counting of votes will be done on November 14, along with the Bihar assembly election votes.
Bodies of three Maoists, including a woman cadre, were recovered from the site, along with a self-loading rifle (SLR), a .303 rifle, a 12-bore gun and other Naxalite-related materials, the SP said.
Twelve of the 16 Naxalites killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district have been identified as dreaded ultras carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 3.13 crore, including a central committee member of the outlawed movement, a police official said. Among them was Chalpathi alias Jairam, a member of the central committee and Odisha state committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), who had a collective bounty of Rs 90 lakh on his head in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. It was the first time someone from the central committee, the main governing body of the proscribed outfit, has been eliminated in an encounter in Chhattisgarh. The encounter, which lasted three days, involved personnel from E-30 (a Gariaband district police unit), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and Odisha police's Special Operation Group (SOG).
Earlier on Monday, two women Naxalites were killed and one CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the same operation, they said.
While Dilip Tirkey is the ruling Biju Janata Dal candidate for the Sundergarh (ST) Lok Sabha constituency, his junior and former India hockey captain, Prabodh Tirkey is the Congress candidate from the Talsara (ST) assembly segment also in Sundergarh district.
The violence came after Friday evening's Hanuman Jayanti processions were held under tight security.
The announcement came on a day that marks the third anniversary of the Naveen Patnaik-led government's fifth tenure in the state.
The latest trend issued by the State Election Commission showed the BJD had already won or was leading in 762 Zilla Parishad seats, as compared to BJP's 46 and Congress's 36 seats.
As part of this, the state government is planning to engage global diamond mining company De Beers for undertaking a detailed survey of the diamond reserves in Nuapada.
An assistant sub-inspector, who was kidnapped by suspected Maoists in Odisha's Nuapada district on Tuesday has been killed.
Maoist commander of Udanti-Raighar-Sinapali border area committee, operating in Orissa-Chhattisgarh border, Laxmidhar Nayak alias Gundadhul surrendered before police in Nabarangapur, Orissa.
Because he knows Odisha; and Odisha knows him, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Congress party's general secretary Rahul Gandhi kicked off his Discover India journey on Friday from tribal Nuapada district of Orissa, as part of the Congress strategy to reach out to the 'last man in society'. Sans any road show, the much-hyped four-day tour of Orissa began with a visit to a watershed programme at Nangalbod village where Rahul interacted with farmers, women and members of self help groups. Gandhi is scheduled to criss-cross 13 of the 30 districts.
Stressing that there is a need to strengthen the collective efforts to curb the spread of the virus, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said ramping up testing and vaccination, healthcare infrastructure planning, following Covid-appropriate behaviour and effective clinical management are among the measures to be taken by these states.
BJD managed to retain 112 seats securing another term for Patnaik in the CM chair.
The cyclone would bring light to moderate rains at most places and 'heavy to very heavy downpour' at some places on November 6.
Concerned over high incidents of violence, the Home ministry has asked the Election Commission to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 33 Naxal-hit districts in the first phase to ensure maximum security and minimum casualties.
More than two lakh paramilitary personnel, thousands of vehicles and nearly a dozen helicopters will be deployed across the country to ensure smooth and violence-free elections beginning April 7.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
As Cyclone Hudhud is closing in on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, about 1.11 lakh people in five coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.