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.
Top Maoist commander Thippiri Tirupati alias Devji has surrendered to police, marking a significant blow to the outlawed organisation. His surrender comes ahead of the Union government's deadline to eliminate Naxalism.
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
Eight Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday. The gunfight broke out in the forest when District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force of the state police along with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were out on an anti-Naxalite operation. An Insas rifle and a barrel grenade launcher (BGL) were among the weapons recovered from the encounter site. This brings the total number of Naxalites killed in separate encounters in the state this year to 50.
'The (Maoist) organisation is in visible decline. Their senior leaders are ageing. Forest life is unforgiving -- older leaders simply cannot cope physically.' 'Earlier, they attracted educated youth from cities. That stream has dried up. Today's recruits largely come from poor village backgrounds and lack ideological depth.'
Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the powerful general secretary of Communist Party of India-Maoist killed in an encounter along with 26 others on Wednesday, had masterminded several major attacks on security forces in Chhattisgarh and his death is a big blow to the armed movement, said officials.
A massive anti-Naxal operation involving around 10,000 security personnel along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border entered its fifth day on Friday, with the Maoists reportedly issuing a statement calling for a halt to the exercise and initiating "peace talks." The statement, circulating on social media, claims that the government is resorting to repression and violence despite the possibility of resolving the issue through dialogue. The operation, considered one of the largest counter-insurgency actions in the Bastar region, involves personnel from various units including the Chhattisgarh police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and its elite CoBRA unit. The operation, launched on Monday in the densely forested hills of Karregutta and Durgamgutta along the inter-state border, is aimed at targeting PLGA battalion No. 1, the strongest military formation of the Maoists.
The Naxalites, 10 of whom are women, turned themselves in before senior officials of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), he added.
A hill with an altitude of 5,000 feet, once a hub of the Maoists along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border, was reclaimed by the security forces after driving out the extremists following nine days of intense anti-Naxal operation, official sources said.
'Shivaji and Sambhaji followed the gospel of humanity. 'They did not discriminate based on religion, caste, or colour.' 'That is the beauty of Shivaji and Sambhaji's Hindvi Swaraj.'
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The Battle of Pratapgad can be termed the turning point in Indian history as it interrupted the continuous chain of Muslim successes on the battlefield.
With this incident, 154 Naxalites have been gunned down by the security forces in different encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year, the police said.
In a separate incident, a commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites went off in the district, police said.
The police on Saturday claimed to have gunned down eight Maoists during an encounter in forests near Kutul-Farasbeda and Kodtameta villages in the district.
The MoU, expected to be signed on Tuesday, coincides with Maharashtra's 350th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji. It is then expected to be dispatched to India later this year for an agreed period.
A cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, one SLR (self-loading rifle), one INSAS rifle, one LMG rifle and one .303 rifle were also recovered from the encounter spot.
In 1666, Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji escaped from the Agra Fort, one of the most miraculous escapes in India's history.
Lt Gen Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Deva recently replaced Hidma as commander of the Maoists' battalion no. 1, the IG added.
'In a war of guerrilla resistance from 1682 to 1707, the Marathas destroyed the foundations of the Mughal empire.' 'Shivaji was dead, but his example and ideals survived and were the main source for inspiration for the Marathas in their desperate struggle with the mighty Mughal empire,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd), the well known military historian.
The wagh nakh is likely to be housed in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sanghralaya (museum) in south Mumbai.
Know the forts India has nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday conferred eight Kirti Chakras, including five posthumously, to personnel of the Army and paramilitary and police forces for displaying indomitable courage and extraordinary valour in the line of duty.
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President Murmu set aside the protocol of her high office to hug mothers and wives as they mourned their loss and also acknowledged a grateful nation's eternal debt to their kin.
The personnel belonging to the CRPF's elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action unit, the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force were involved in the operation.
'Instead of Samaiya Madvi, his mortal remains have reached the new house'
A search operation was underway on Sunday to trace 18 security personnel who went missing after a fierce gun-battle with Naxals in a forest along the border of Bijapur-Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh, police said.
CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas went missing after the April 3 ambush in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
'To essay Chhatrapati Shivaji is a huge responsibility. I can't tell you how great and proud I feel.'
At one location, seven bodies of the troops were recovered and the tree trunks bore bullet shots, indicating that a fierce gun battle took place in the area.
In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, had launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
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.
The Maoists rained bullets from light machine guns and used low-intensity improvised explosive devices to mount the attack that went on till evening.
Shivaji made sure that his soldiers respected the sanctity of mosques and the Quran Sharif to ensure that his fight against the Mughals did not become fight against Islam, explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Torrential rains continued to wreak havoc in northern Karnataka with 35 more deaths being reported from the region since Thursday night, pushing up the rain-related toll in the state to 86. Eight people were killed in Raichur, six in Bagalkote, five in Bellary, four each in Bijapur, Gulbarga and Gadag and two each in Koppal and Bidar. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa held an emergency meeting, where Air Force and Army officials were present, besides state ministers.
The naxalites claimed that the Rani Bodli incident was an answer to the Salwa Judum (peace campaign) and anti-naxal operation in Bastar region.
Since the number of well-trained policemen were only 24 and put before about 700 armed Naxals, it was nothing but a 'kind of butchering'.
'On June 15, 1965, Major A K Afridi of the Pakistan army was captured by Papa's 1 Mahar unit near Vigokot, when he accidently walked into Indian territory.' 'While he was being airlifted to Delhi from Kutch, Major Afridi made a request: He wanted to watch Sangam>, the movie starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayantimala. It was a request that the Indian Army fulfilled.' 'Major Afridi was sent with armed escorts to watch the movie in Ahmedabad and then sent to Delhi for further interrogation.'
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