The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that anti-Naxal operations, as part of regular counter-insurgency measures, should not be investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) unless exceptional circumstances justify such intervention. The ruling came as the court dismissed a petition seeking an SIT probe into the killing of a Maoist leader in Narayanpur district.
Locals said there was a "chemical-like" smell at the site and thick white smoke everywhere as panic gripped the Paschim Vihar area after the blast happened near a CRPF school.
Government sources allege the recent violence in Ladakh was a politically motivated conspiracy, blaming certain individuals and activist Sonam Wangchuk for misleading the youth.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Nine-year-old Devanshi was among the hundreds of pilgrims who had gathered in Chositi for the last leg of the yatra to Machail Mata temple when tragedy struck on Thursday. Buried under mud and debris when a Maggi-point shop was hit by flash floods, she emerged hours later, rescued by her uncle and other villagers.
'You cannot 'clear' your way to peace.' 'You need intelligence, calibrated force, impartial law enforcement, political neutrality, humanitarian returns and a sustained reconciliation plan.'
The Congress party has escalated its attack on the BJP-RSS, alleging a conspiracy to silence Rahul Gandhi after a former ABVP leader made controversial remarks targeting him.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday conducted a massive search operation at 15 locations in eight states across the country in a Pakistan-linked espionage case.
A CoBRA commando of the CRPF, who was fatally shot by a Maoist sniper while establishing a new base in Chhattisgarh, was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry medal. Constable Pawan Kumar and Constable Devan C, both from the 201 CoBRA battalion, were recognized for their bravery and courage in the face of a Naxal attack. In addition to the two posthumous awards, five other CRPF personnel received the Shaurya Chakra for their roles in two separate operations against Naxals.
Flood crisis intensifies as rescue operations expand across Akhnoor, Jammu, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh.
'Often people outside paint a wrong picture of us of Kashmiris. We are not like that. We are cool and bindaas,' said the lady, a teacher, caressing my cheeks in the pressing crowds.
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
The attack, which took place near a heavily guarded complex housing All India Radio and Doordarshan Kendra near the Tourist Reception Centre, comes a day after security forces eliminated a top Pakistani commander of Lashkar-e-Tayiba in the Khanyar locality of downtown Srinagar.
The deceased has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jha, 43, a resident of Bihar.
The parliament duty group of the CRPF wound up its entire administrative and operational paraphernalia -- vehicles, weapons and commandos -- from the complex on Friday and its commander, a deputy inspector general-rank officer, handed over all the security points in the complex to the incoming CISF group, the sources said.
Security measures have been intensified in Imphal and Churachandpur, Manipur, in anticipation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's possible visit. The visit comes after months of ethnic violence in the state.
"The 20-year-old man was intercepted and apprehended by CISF personnel around 9:30 am on Saturday from the Raisina Road between the Rail Bhawan and the Parliament House.
'The biggest game changer has been the belief among Maoists that they can surrender and join the mainstream'
The militants attacked an India Reserve Battalion camp at Naranseina in the Moirang police station area, they said.
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the telecast of Sunday's India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match in Dubai.
Rekha Gupta was attacked by Rajkot resident Rajesh Khimji at her Civil Lines residence on Wednesday during Jan Sunwai.
Security forces in Manipur have launched a major crackdown on the banned People's Liberation Army (PLA) following an ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy. Fifteen cadres have been arrested, including suspects directly involved in the attack. Investigations are underway to determine if the PLA has political patronage and if weapons looted during ethnic clashes are being used against security forces.
'We are ready to exchange views with the government, primarily through video call.' 'The government should immediately declare a formal ceasefire for a month, stop search operations and take forward the peace process.'
For the first time since curfew was imposed three days ago in violence-hit Leh town of Ladakh, the restrictions were relaxed Saturday afternoon in a phased manner for a few hours, providing relief to residents who lined up outside shops selling essential commodities.
The home ministry said the central government would continue to welcome the discussion with LAB and KDA through the high powered committee on Ladakh or any such platform.
Manoj Tiwary said that India should boycott the much-talked-about fixture against their arch-rival Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup.
Home Minister Amit Shah stated in the Rajya Sabha that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack were killed in Operation Mahadev. He also criticized the Congress party's stance on national security.
Four Maoists were killed in an encounter with police and CRPF commandos along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli district. The encounter took place on Friday following a joint operation launched based on intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist formations near a recently opened FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Kawande area. The exchange of fire lasted for nearly two hours, and security forces recovered bodies of the four Maoists, along with weapons, ammunition, and Naxal literature.
Security forces on Wednesday stopped nearly 100 internally displaced people in Manipur from returning to their villages in Dolaithabi in Imphal East district, police said.
In a major breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested two men for harbouring the terrorists who had carried out the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead, the agency said on Sunday.
He has single-handedly planted over 100,000 trees and shared more than 40,000 saplings with others -- all at no cost.
The security cover of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been strengthened with the addition of two bullet-resistant vehicles following a review of his Z category armed central protection recently, official sources said on Wednesday.
Lal Chowk in the heart of Srinagar was Kashmir's leading venue for protests where fortified defences had been set up by security forces. Today a group of youngsters dances at the Chowk and makes reels.
In the last five days, there were instances in which various groups of protesters agitated in front of the Mantralaya (secretariat), Bombay Stock Exchange, were seen roaming along the Marine Drive, Jehangir Art Gallery, Giragon Chowpatty and Gateway of India, but police controlled the crowd and were seen requesting them to take precautions.
The security cover of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been upgraded from the 'Y' category to 'Z', official sources said on Thursday.
The Central Reserve Police Force paid tribute to 40 of its personnel who were killed in the horrific Pulwama terror attack on this day six years ago.
Chiefs of Central Reserve Police Force and Chhattisgarh police, GP Singh and AD Singh respectively, along with senior commanders of the two forces addressed the media in this district, about 450 km from state capital Raipur, to assert that the top armed Maoist leadership was "either eliminated or injured".
An alert has been sounded in the anti-Naxal operations theatre of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand following a "spike" in IED blasts and recoveries, including that of a device rigged with beer bottles and a small antenna for remote control explosion. The uptick in improvised explosive device (IED) recovery and blasts has been noticed as multiple security forces move into core Naxal areas to meet the Union government's deadline of wiping off Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from the country by March 2026.
Among the medal winners are a deputy commandant rank officer, two assistant commandants and an inspector.
The troops of 209 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) conducted the operation in which eight Naxals were killed and an AK series rifle, three INSAS rifles, a self-loading rifle (SLR), eight country-made guns and a pistol were seized, the officials said.
