CBI investigations point out that DG Vanzara, the then Deputy Inspector General of Gujarat Police, Border Range, received a go ahead two days prior to the encounter. Vicky Nanjappa reports
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.
'If, as happened in Baramulla during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the youth in the Valley get triggered enough to jump into the wider fray, the end result would be difficult to predict, especially as the state's post-August 5, 2019 political format remains substantially fragmented and foggy,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Suspended Gujarat cadre IPS officer D G Vanzara, who has been behind bars for the past seven years in connection with fake encounter cases, retired on Saturday after 34 years of service.
Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said.
A Greyhounds jawan sustained injuries, following which he was airlifted to Warangal and admitted to a hospital.
The prime minister was accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane.
IPS officer D G Vanzara, who is behind the bars in connection with fake encounter cases, will retire on Saturday. After serving for 34 years, the suspended officer who is in jail for the last seven years will retire. He is lodged in Sabarmati Central Prison.
According to a preliminary analysis, the flying object was a hexa m-copter with six wings and had a GPS device and a flight controller, the officer said.
"With the death of RK, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) has lost its three central committee members and as many other senior cadres in the last two years. These deaths would certainly deplete the strength of the Naxal movement which has been losing its ground. Security forces would make an all-out attempt to soon bring an end to the five-decade-long mindless violence by ultras in the region," Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.
An ITBP constable, identified as Masudul Rahman, opened fire from his service weapon, killing four troopers at the spot and injuring three other jawans, after some unknown dispute among them.
The protesting farmers huddled in small groups to discuss the repercussions of the killing. They also maintained a distance from the journalists who went to Singhu border to cover the incident.
Admitting the presence of about three splinter terror groups in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior police officer said security forces are making efforts to neutralise them.
Five police personnel were killed and 13 others injured as Naxals blew up the bus in which they were traveling in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Tuesday, senior police officials said.
"India and China are in communication and negotiations on lowering the temperatures through military and diplomatic channels. No party should engage in any action that may escalate the situation at this point," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during a briefing when asked about the Prime Minister's visit.
He said 100 youths joined terrorism in J-K this year, which is also the lowest in many years.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.
One of the slain terrorists has been identified as Shahbaz Safi Wani alias Rayees Kachru, who was active in the area since June, 2016.
The prime minister is presently at one of the forward locations in Nimu and is interacting with personnel of the Army, Air Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, official sources said.
The use of RDX in the explosion was confirmed by experts after samples from the scene were sent for examination. While one of the bombs was laced with 1.5 kg of RDX, the other contained nearly 1 kg of RDX, the officials said.
The "eyeball to eyeball" deployment and the dynamic internal security situation in the JK make Northern Command the most unique theatre.
The Gujarat government on Wednesday said it has not accepted the resignation of fake encounter cases accused Indian Police Service officer D G Vanzara, who quit after indicting Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Police appointed an inspector general to probe into an unverified letter that surfaced on social media, purportedly written weeks before his death by Deputy Superintendent of Police Devendra Mishra. It had alleged links between the Chaubeypur station officer and the gangster.
At least 15,000 pilgrims, who were stranded near the Amarnath holy cave in Jammu and Kashmir due to a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst, have been shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson said on Saturday.
Foiling a major terror plot, four suspected Pakistan-linked terrorists on their way to Telangana to deliver explosives were nabbed in Haryana's Karnal on Thursday and arms, ammunition and IEDs were recovered from their vehicle, senior police officials said.
The Naxals fled from the spot after a prolonged gunfight.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
After a Kashmiri Pandit shopkeeper was shot at by terrorists in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, his family received immense support from his Muslim neighbours who not only rushed him to a hospital but camped at his house as well to ward off any further trouble.
Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh's supporters on Thursday clashed with the police over the move to evict him from the government residence in Delhi even as the Centre rejected his demand that the house be converted into a memorial to his father, former Prime Minister Charan Singh.
The border guarding force is also moving its mechanised column assets like SUVs, all-terrain vehicles, snow scooters and trucks to forward locations in the midst of the projected increase in the number of troops at border units and fresh directives to undertake 'additional' patrols.
For the soldiers at this frontier, it's a battle that has to be fought on two fronts -- hostile neighbour and harsh winter, which is approaching.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla may have a video conference with West Bengal's Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and Director General of Police Virendra on Friday evening after they conveyed their inability to travel to the national capital, officials said.
Hours after the macabre crime, a man wearing the blue robes of the Sikhs' Nihang order appeared before the media, claiming that he had 'punished' the victim for 'desecrating' a holy book.
There was speculation whether Sidhana would take part in the public meeting as he is wanted by the Delhi Police for his alleged role in the violence that broke out during a tractor parade called by farmer unions on January 26 demanding the repeal of the agri laws.
CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas went missing after the April 3 ambush in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.
The 91-year-old was buried at a mosque near his residence according to his wishes, his close aides said.
Several people were feared trapped under the debris, police said, adding that the rescue operation was underway.
In this photograph, which is being circulated on social media, Manhas, a commando with the 210th CoBRA battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), is seen sitting in a hut alone without any Naxal in the frame.
'The Khalistanis get bulk of the money from abroad.' 'Where did Amritpal's Mercedes come from, which costs well over Rs 60 lakhs?' 'Where does his fleet of vehicles come from?' 'Local Punjabis can certainly not contribute this kind of money.'
