An NIA spokesperson said several digital devices, including mobile phones, SIM cards and memory cards, along with incriminating documents like pamphlets of the proscribed Naxal outfit were seized during the searches.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
The 31 ultras killed in the February 9 encounter in Bijapur in Chhattisgarh included the mastermind of the January 6 IED blast in which eight security personnel and a civilian lost their lives and several other deadly attacks, a police official said. Among the 31 ultras killed in the encounter was Hunga Karma, who was secretary of the west Bastar division of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. He was the mastermind of the January 6 attack on security personnel. Karma also masterminded the 2006 Murkinar camp attack in which 11 police personnel were killed as well as the 2007 Ranibodli camp attack in which 55 security personnel were killed. Of the 31 killed ultras, 28, including 17 men and 11 women, have been identified and they carried a cumulative reward of Rs 1.10 crore on their heads. Out of the 81 Naxalites gunned down in the state so far this year, 65 were killed in the Bastar division, which comprises Bijapur and six other districts. So far this year, 77 firearms, including two AK-47 rifles, five Self Loading Rifles (SLR) and two INSAS rifles and three.303 rifles, have been recovered following separate encounters in Bastar region, the IG informed.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist), a Naxalite outfit, on Thursday slammed the Maoists for destroying the communist movement by indulging in individual annihilation and facilitating the despatch of para-military forces and commandos to Lalgarh.
One of the deceased was identified as Cherla local organisation squad commander Rajesh while the identity of the other was being ascertained, the police added.
The Supreme Court of India has expressed concern over the protracted trials in heinous offences related to Maoist activities, stating that indefinite incarceration violates the right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Two separate benches of the court granted relief to two accused, citing the delayed trials. One bench expedited the trial of a man accused of transporting ammunition for a banned organization, while the other granted bail to a man accused of transporting materials for Naxal activities. The court emphasized the importance of speedy trials and suggested the establishment of special courts to handle Maoist-related cases, aiming to expedite proceedings. The court also criticized the practice of examining an excessive number of witnesses, which can lead to indefinite delays in the conclusion of trials.
Rao's history includes arrests in 2000 by Sahadha police of Nandurbar district and subsequent releases, as well as an underground stint in 2002, leading to his arrest by Malkanoor PS police of Karnataka in 2005.
'A prohibition is not going to have any influence on our party's activities. In fact, it will only infuse into us a new sense of grit to counter the government opposition,' says Gour Chakraborty, the CPI (Maoist) spokesman.
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Police seized condoms, contraceptive pills and pregnancy test kits from a Maoist hideout following an exchange of fire with red rebels on Odisha-Chhattisgarh border, a senior officer said in Nabarangapur on Thursday.
The Maoists have warned that if the government does not stop unfairly targeting them and charging false cases against them, what happened in Kochi at the Jehovah's Witnesses convention can be expected during the 'Hamas rally of fake comrades' in the district, an official said.
'They mean business, but business as usual is unacceptable to them'
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. The court noted that they had been in jail since 2018 and the trial was yet to start. The court said the two had spent more than six years in jail as under-trial prisoners. The NIA, the prosecution agency, did not seek a stay to the HC order. Eight other activists have been granted bail in the case, which pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017.
Deva recently replaced Hidma as commander of the Maoists' battalion no. 1, the IG added.
The Centre on Monday said it banned Communist Party of India-Maoist as a terror organisation to avoid any ambiguity after the merger of Communist Party of India-(Marxist Leninist) Liberation and Maoist Communist Centre in 2004.
'We are orchestrating a revolution at Lalgarh. Can you cite an instance where a revolution took place without bloodshed?'An exclusive interview with Gour Chakraborty, the CPI (Maoist)'s spokesman.
The Communist Party of India - Maoist on Thursday rubbished charges leveled by the Communist Party of India Marxist, that the Trinamool Congress was patronising Maoists, saying the Left Front party was trying to keep itself afloat by making such allegations. "There is no need for us to have the CPI-M or the Trinamool Congress as allies," Maoist leader Kishenji said while reacting to the CPI-M's allegations that the outfit was protected by the TC.
With Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front government in West Bengal not readily implementing the ban imposed on Communist Party of India-Maoist, Congress on Wednesday accused the Marxist party of "double speak" and warned if state governments implement Central laws "selectively", it would lead to "constitutional chaos."
Recent court decisions have granted 'political prisoner' status to arrested Maoists. Bibhu Prasad Routray examines how that decision will affect India battle to control the Maoist menace.
During the operation, members of the proscribed People's Liberation Front of India opened fire at approaching security personnel and the law enforcers retaliated, he said.
The Centre's ban on the Communist Party of India-Maoist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on Monday would make the outfit more aggressive, according to Left Front partners.
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.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested a top Maoist leader as it carried out raids at 62 locations across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the Communist Party of India-Maoist conspiracy case, an official said.
Prolonged incarceration without trial amounts to infringement of the right to life under the Constitution, the Bombay high court said while urging a special court to expedite the trial in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The Centre on Monday banned the Communist Party of India-Maoist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, calling it a terrorist organisation.
Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000, is confronting the menace for decades with 12 of its 16 districts in the Naxals' grip.
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 the footage, which was aired by a private news channel, Maoists' Karnataka state committee chief Chandrashekhar Gorebal said the Maoists were now attempting to spread around the Western Ghats in Karnataka.
According to a media report published on Saturday, only one of the outfits to which eight of the arrested activists belonged was declared as unlawful.
The 24th CPI(M) Party Congress commenced in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, with interim coordinator Prakash Karat emphasizing the need for Left unity to combat "Hindutva neo-fascism." He criticized the BJP-RSS government, accusing it of representing a "Hindutva-corporate nexus" and displaying "neo-fascist characteristics." Other Left leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, echoed calls for unity and condemned the current political climate in India.
According to the police, CPI-Maoist central committee member Sande Rajamouli alias Prasad was killed in an exchange of fire with a special police party in the vicinity of Dharmavaram railway station at 10 pm.
Left parties on Monday condemned the brutal Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh saying they disapproved violent retribution against political opponents, but opposed the killings of and atrocities against innocent tribals there.
The Chhattisgarh police, however, said the claim seemed to be an attempt to mislead the local population, and the security forces never compromise on the safety of the local people during their operations.
Would the Maoists lose the support of the middle-class and urban intelligentsia by continuing to use kidnapping as a propaganda tool? Dr P V Ramana analyses
While the official media is silent on the issue, Chinese blogs and websites are much kinder to the banned Maoist rebels, writes China expert D S Rajan.
Ten Maoists were killed in an encounter with a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist near a village of Chatra district, police said on Thursday.
The Maoists exploded IEDs on the tracks between Nishitpur and Matari railway stations late Sunday night, according to Divisional Operative Manager Ved Prakash.
The state Cabinet, which met in Hyderabad on Wednesday, took the decision to extend the ban on Maoist outfits, in view of the continuing Maoist violence in the state.
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