'It was like an 'agni pariksha' for me. I had to go through a test by fire twice'
Around 150 cases involving that of murder, landmine blasts, abduction and attack on the police were pending against the couple in different police stations, police said.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.
In yet another controversial remark, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday sought to justify Maoists extorting levy from contractors who, he suggested, were indulging in corruption and looting the state.
The gunfight lasted for around one-and-a-half hour, following which the ultras disappeared into the dense forest.
A 27-year-old suspected Maoist, wanted in several cases of murder and attack on police teams, was arrested in Delhi. Shiv Kumar alias Shiva, a cadre of the Communist Party of India Maoist, who hails from Jharkhand's Ranchi and is an expert in handling landmines and sophisticated arms, was apprehended by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Rohini on Wednesday.
In a fresh jolt to the Naxals in Odisha, 57 Maoist sympathisers, including 11 militia and two village committee members, today surrendered before the police in Malkangiri district.
A voter turnout of over 40 per cent was recorded till 1 pm on Monday in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 96 constituencies spread over 10 states and Union Territories amid incidents of violence in Andhra Pradesh and reports of poll boycott in some villages of Uttar Pradesh.
'When there was no crime committed, everything had to be fabricated. They see it as a war, and everything is fair in love and war.'
Despite major setbacks, the Maoists' ability to inflict damage on the State and maintain its position as the saviour of the tribals will keep them relevant, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
"We now realise that the so-called farmer agitation hardly remains a farmers' agitation. It has almost got infiltrated by Leftist and Maoist elements, a flavour of which we saw over the last two days when there were extraneous demands to release people who have been put behind bars for anti-national (and) who have been put behind bars for illegal activities," Goyal, the Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industry and Food and Consumers Affairs, said at FICCI's annual meeting.
A Maoist camp was busted and a cache of ammunition and explosive material recovered from the forests of Katulbharora in Chhattisgarh, police said on Friday.
The Centre on Monday banned the Communist Party of India-Maoist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, calling it a terrorist organisation.
The Maoist who has emerged as the major threat to the security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district.
The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday refused bail to advocate Surendra Gadling in connection with a 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case, noting that prima facie the accusations against him are true.
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."
The agency, in its affidavit filed in response to Navlakha's plea, also claimed that he had 'committed acts that had a direct impact on the national security, unity and sovereignty'.
Despite being 90% handicapped, suffering from multiple ailments and dependent on a wheelchair, the former Delhi University professor has not been able to step out of the anda cell of the Nagpur Jail at all since his conviction.
Fearing imminent arrest and likely reprisals from the CRPF -- 25 of whose jawans were gunned down by the Maoists inside a jungle just 200 to 300 metres away from their homes on the afternoon of April 24 -- young Adivasi men and women in Burkapal abandoned their homes and fled into the jungle.
The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.
'When Maoists say that a protracted, violent, armed way is the only way to capture power then what is the way out except confronting them as a state,' asks Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan.
Avenging the Sukma attack, security forces claim to have gunned down 12-15 Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Basaguda-Chintalnar area on Sunday.
A top Maoist leader carrying a reward of Rs 7 lakh on his head has been arrested from the outskirts of Ranchi, police said on Wednesday
Maoist chief Prachanda was on Wednesday elected by lawmakers as Nepal's Prime Minister for a second time.
Altogether 13 Maoist ultras including a woman were killed in an encounter with security forces inside a forest in Malkangiri district early on Saturday while another rebel was captured. The Maoist group that camped there was suspected to have been involved in the May 25 attack on a Congress convoy in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh that killed senior party leaders V C Shukla, Mahendra Karma and about 19 others.
The key to fighting Maoists lies in isolating them in urban areas and containing them in forested areas, says Sonali Ranade
The Maoists holding ruling Biju Janata Dal Member of Legislative Assembly Jhina Hikaka hostage on Sunday extended the deadline for the fulfillment of their demands till April 18. In a message, a leader of Maoists' Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee set a new deadline of 5 pm on April 18 for the release of 29 rebels, said Nihar Ranjan Patnaik, a Koraput-based lawyer who fights cases for Maoists.
In a major achievement for Odisha police, top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda wanted in over 60 criminal cases, has been arrested prompting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to appeal to Naxals to eschew violence and join the mainstream
The 39-year-old officer was bestowed with the PPMG, the highest police gallantry award, for skillfully killing a terrorist holed up in a building in Kashmir on June 21, 2020, officials said.
Documents seized by security forces in Maoist-hit Koraput district reveal that the rebels appear to have started training cadres to gun down helicopters used in ferrying security personnel for counter-insurgency operations.
'The Maoists realise it is impossible to keep themselves away from the gaze of the intelligence agencies. Any sincere intelligence agency can pick up their trail and can succeed.'
Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, are likely to walk out of jail only next week after securing bail from the Supreme Court on Friday as certain formalities are to be completed before they are released, defence lawyers said in Mumbai.
A senior Maoist leader identified as Anukul Chandra Naskar alias Pareshji, who is also a politburo member of the CPI (Maoist), was arrested by a joint team of the Andhra Pradesh Police and Assam Police.
Fifteen people, including 12 labourers, abducted by Maoists from Bihar's Jamui district were released in a jungle, the police said on Saturday.
A massive search operation was on for the four policemen kidnapped after Sunday's encounter with Maoists in Bihar's Lakhisarai district as the deadline for release of eight ultras in exchange for them expired on Wednesday.
2 senior commandos of Greyhounds were injured in the encounter that occurred during a routine combing operation.
The Maoists have launched a helpline on the foundation day of CPI (Maoist) for people to register grievances and complaints against any errant cadre, a Maoist leader said on Monday.
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.
In a significant ruling, the Kerala high court on Fridday said that being a Maoist is not a crime and police cannot detain a person merely because he is a Maoist.
The three-month ceasefire, announced by the Maoists on April 27, will be extended to facilitate the peace talks with the seven-party alliance government, said rebel spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
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