Kidnapped Sukma collector Alex Paul Menon's friend and collector of Bastar district in Chhattisgarh, Ponnusamy Anbalagan, speaks to A Ganesh Nadar
Hours after the Chhattisgarh government offered to hold talks to secure the release Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, Maoists on Monday night named three mediators, including lawyer Prashant Bhushan, for negotiations.
A Ganesh Nadar visits Tirunelveli where there's unrest following Saturday's Maoist abduction of Alex Paul Menon, the collector of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh, who belongs to this district.
Four policemen were injured in an attack by Naxals, who first triggered a landmine blast and then opened fire at them in Sukma district in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh during their 'Bharat Bandh' on Wednesday, police said.
Our policies on hostage crises have been marked by significant tentativeness and not surprisingly, these have been exploited by the extremists, points out Bibhu Prasad Routray
Former bureaucrat Nirmala Buch, who had mediated on behalf of Chhattisgarh government with Maoists for the release of Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, on Saturday said the Raman Singh government may free Naxalites in the coming days and has "no hidden agenda" in doing so.
Mediators on Friday failed to achieve any breakthrough to secure the release of abducted Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon after the second round of talks even as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh asserted that the demands of the Maoists would be considered only "within the legal framework".
The anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has been suspended in the wake of abduction of Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon.
Maoists on Saturday abducted the collector of Sukma district in Bastar area of Chhattisgarh after killing two of his bodyguards. The left-wing ultras intercepted the vehicle of Sukma Collector Alex Paul Menon, an IAS officer, in Keralapal area of the district while he was returning from a programme, top police officials said.
Cricketer Gautam Gambhir too expressed his support and congratulated everyone on the dilution of Section 377.
The Maoists rained bullets from light machine guns and used low-intensity improvised explosive devices to mount the attack that went on till evening.
On February 16 last year, while serving as the collector of Malkangiri district of Odisha, R Vineel Krishna was abducted by Naxals. He was released nine days later. The IAS officer recounts his experience
Kidnapped collector Alex Paul Menon's wife Asha, in an exclusive first person account, gives glimpses of her husband's softer side, and requests the Maoists to release him.
Serious brainstorming at the national level is fast becoming a necessity to deal with this phenomenon of abductions by the Maoists. The home ministry's hands-off approach is certainly not what India needs at the moment, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
With the Maoists forwarding their demands in exchange for the release of Sukma District Collector Alex Paul Menon, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has reportedly convened a high-level meeting to decide on the future course of action. The Chhattisgarh government has set up a cabinet sub-committee to deal with the situation arising out of Menon's abduction by the Maoists.
Maoists on Saturday kidnapped the collector of Sukma district in Bastar area of Chhattisgarh after killing two of his bodyguards.
A Central Reserve Police Force official was injured on Monday when Naxals attacked a camp of paramilitary forces in insurgency-hit Sukma district in southern Chhattisgarh.
Even as efforts are on to secure the release of kidnapped Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon, a page created on the 32-year-old officer by his family and friends, on social networking site Facebook has become a big hit.
Two officers of Deputy Commandant rank -- S Niwas and Prabhat Tripathi -- and three other men were injured in the blast suspected to be from an improvised explosive device hidden beneath the dirt track by the Naxals, officials said.
A Chhattisgarh Armed Force jawan was killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district on Saturday. Constable Shivkumar Sidar was unwell for the last few days and was going for treatment to Dornpal from Temelwada in a bus where he was abducted by a group of Maoists and was killed, Inspector General, Bastar Range SRP Kalluri, said.
Two Border Security Force jawans and a civilian driver were killed when Naxals blew up their vehicles in Maoist-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
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Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday vowed to take "revenge" for Tuesday's Naxal ambush in which 15 security personnel and a civilian were killed in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, saying the attack could be an attempt to disrupt the Lok Sabha polls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night condemned the Naxal strike in Chhattisgarh in which 13 CRPF peronnel were killed and said words are not enough to deplore the "brutal" and "inhuman" attack by "anti-national elements."
Delh BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that the every heart is filled with grief over the killing of 25 CRPF men in Sukma and the party will not celebrate the victory.
Three Naxals were killed on Tuesday in a gun-battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.
Roads are of great importance to win the war against the rebels in Sukma
A jawan of the special task force of state police was killed in an encounter with the Naxals in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district on Saturday. The encounter took place at Kondre village under Gadiras police station limits, 400 km from Raipur, Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.
An AK-47 rifle, one SLR, three Insas rifles and a .303 rifle were also recovered from the encounter spot.
'It is time to use the Indian military's decades-long expertise in fighting insurgency successfully,' advocates Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The jawans are helping farmers in ploughing their fields
A CAF constable was killed, while another was injured when a pressure bomb went off allegedly set by Maoists.
16 weapons, including 315 bore and 12 bore guns, were recovered from the spot.
The fight against ultras will be intensified to end the Naxal menace, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday as he took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the killing 22 security personnel in an attack by the rebels in Chhattisgarh.
Ahead of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rallies in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, security forces averted a possible landmine explosion, as they diffused two Improvised Explosive Devices weighing 50 kg in the Dantewada area of the state.
Gearing up for a strong offensive against left wing extremism, Chhattisgarh police have claimed to have intensified the process of setting-up 'fortified police stations' in Bastar region in order to strengthen security apparatus in the Naxal-hit area.
A day after killing seven policemen in an ambush in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the Naxals on Sunday allegedly set ablaze at least 17 vehicles engaged in mining work in insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said.
With an aim of countering the 'anti-developmental' propaganda of Maoists, the Central Reserve Police Force has devised a new strategy of putting up hoardings in local dialect to seek tribals' support in construction of a National Highway in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called Maoists a 'national challenge' which he said the government has accepted and will fight it. On a day-long visit to Chhattisgarh, a day after Maoists killed 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Sukma district, he also announced a compensation of Rs 38 lakh each to the kin of victims of the Naxal ambush and Rs 65,000 each to the injured.
"The face-off between a small action team of ultras and a joint team of security forces took place about 2 kms deep inside the forests from the spot where the explosion took place at around 8 am," Sukma Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela told PTI over phone.
Three youths from Pune, who were allegedly abducted by Naxals while they were on a bicycle rally to spread the message of peace, have been released by the rebels in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said.
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