Senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma's personal security officer, who was critically injured in the deadly Naxal attack in Bastar, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Raipur on Saturday, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 28.
The final rites of late Congress leader and founder of controversial anti-Maoist Salwa Judum movement Mahendra Karma were performed with state honours at his native village in Dantewada district on Monday.
For Mahendra Karma's wife, the November 11 election is a battle to redeem the legacy of the 'Bastar Tiger' who founded the Salwa Judum and was considered a symbol of the tribals' fight back against Maoists before he was killed along with top Chhattisgarh Congress leaders in May.
The Congress has pinned its hopes on many of the old-timers and also given representation to some new faces in its first list of candidates announced for the Chhattisgarh assembly polls scheduled next month.
Here is the timeline of major Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh.
It's a single phase polling in Mizoram while first phase of assembly elections is underway in Chhattisgarh.
'Rahul should have learnt so much in the last 20 years. But give him a mic and he begins to talk without thinking about its consequences.'
'This was long expected because Mahendra Karma was on the Maoists's hit list... I don't think the Maoists cared as much about the consequences as they cared about the fact that they had to get rid of Mahendra Karma. Whatever else they do or don't do now, they can say they have revenged Salwa Judum.' Sociologist Nandini Sundar on the Maoist massacre and its aftermath.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said his government will not make public the report of the judicial commission, headed by former judge of Chhattisgarh high court Justice Prashant Mishra, on the May 2013 Jhiram valley Maoist attack, because it is 'incomplete.'
Congress's Devti Karma won the bypoll for the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, by a margin of 11,192 votes, a poll official said.
Gruesome details are slowly emerging about the infamous Chhattisgarh massacre.
Unfazed by the dastardly attack by Maoists, Opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh will soon resume its parivartan yatra from Keslur village near Jiram Ghati, the spot where its convoy was ambushed on May 25. Congress workers will pay tribute to the victims including state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh, former leader of opposition in the assembly Mahendra Karma and former member of legislative assembly Uday Mudliyar among others.
Assessment by security forces suggests the Naxals had reached Sukma in small batches from different states to carry out the attack, reports Gyan Varma
The National Investigation Agency, which will probe the shocking Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, is seeking information about an operative named Gaganna alias Ramesh. The preliminary investigation has revealed that Gaganna was the leader of the operation.
Condemning attack on Congress rally in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called for "a policy of zero tolerance" towards terrorism and Naxalism.
With Saturday's attack on a Congress convoy that killed party members and police personnel along with Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma, the Maoists have issued a strong political message.
The family of Congress leader Mahendra Karma, who was killed by Maoists in an attack in Chhattisgarh in May, on Friday said they continue to receive threats from the extremists and demanded security. Accompanied by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, Karma's wife Devki, son Deepak and three other sons, met Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and apprised him about the threats the family continues to receive from Naxals.
The Naxal ambush on a Congress convoy near Darbha on Saturday has kicked off a war between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh. The attack had left 28 dead, including state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and former leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma.
A Congress leader, who was with former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla during the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, has claimed that the ambush specifically targeted state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and senior leader Mahendra Karma, both of whom died in the strike.
Terming the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh as a 'holocaust', Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said the ultras resorted to such acts as they felt threatened with the pace of development work.
The Maoist threat should be taken with utmost seriously and the menace should be dealt with in every possible way, political leaders in Jharkhand opined.
A day after Maoists gunned down the founder of anti-Maoist militia Salwa Judum, Mahendra Karma, Prasanna D Zore spoke with Rahul Pandita, author of 'Hello, Bastar: The Untold Story of India's Maoist Movement', for his insights into what he terms as the ageing Maoist leadership's "one final push to their war against the State in their lifetime."
Former leader of opposition in Chhattisgarh assembly Mahendra Karma sustained minor injuries after his vehicle was blown up by suspected Naxalss in Dantewada district of the state, police said.
On May 25, 2013, Naxals ambushed the Congress leaders' convoy in Jiram valley of Bastar's Darbha region.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a sum of Rs 15 lakh for the family of late jawan Ashok Bangali, who was killed in the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh on May 25.
Mahendra Karma, former Chhattisgarh home minister, slain by Naxals along with 26 others, had Z-plus security with 16 armed guards but was accompanied by only six guards when he was attacked.
'The cities are not safe, Naxals will reach them very soon,' feels Mahendra Karma, the tribal leader who championed the controversial Salwa Judum against the Naxalites.
Claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on a Congress convoy, Maoists on Tuesday said their main objective was to "punish" senior party leaders including Nand Kumar Patel and Mahendra Karma for their "anti-people" policies.
'The cities are not safe, Naxals will reach them very soon,' feels Mahendra Karma, the tribal leader who championed the controversial Salwa Judum against the Naxalites.
Chhattisgarh House rule says that anyone entering the well of the House would be automatically suspended.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday scored a hat-trick of victories in the Chhattisgarh assembly elections, winning 49 of 90 seats, thwarting the Congress' bid to wrest power after a decade.
More than Congress legislator Karma's loss, it's the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Bheema Mandavi which surprises many; for, the Communist Party of India's candidate Manish Kunjam's anti-Salwa Judum campaign in Dantewada had made the latter a favourite among the rural masses. Kunjam had seemed a sure winner in case Karma fell from grace
An elusive figure, Hidma is a top leader of the outlawed Naxal outfit CPI (Maoist) and has been on the radar of security agencies for many years.
A total of 10 women candidates, one less than last time, have emerged victorious in Chhattisgarh Assembly polls where the saffron party is back in power for the third time.
Soren described the police firing as 'inhuman' and 'barbaric'.
In a major breakthrough, Odisha Police have arrested two suspected Maoists who were accused of being involved in the May 25 deadly attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh.
Of the 12 seats in Bastar, the Congress won eight. The BJP had secured 11 of these seats in 2008.
Heads rolled in the Chhattisgarh police administration on Tuesday with the government suspending Bastar Superintendent of Police Mayank Shrivasta and shunting out Bastar range Inspector General of Police Himanshu Gupta, in the wake of the Maoist attack on Congress leaders.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh will resume his 'Vikas Yatra' from August 17 which was suspended in the wake of the deadly Naxal attack on Congress convoy on May 25.
Communication, dated February 17 to all state governments, said the CPI (Maoist) planned to capture attention once again
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