Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma has reiterated the state government's willingness to engage in unconditional peace talks with Naxalites, following a statement by the Maoist group outlining preconditions for a ceasefire. Sharma, who holds the home portfolio, stated that the government has already made its stance on unconditional talks clear and has implemented a surrender and rehabilitation policy for Naxal cadres. He criticized the Maoists' demands as unreasonable and emphasized the importance of ending violence and joining the national mainstream. Sharma also called on the Naxalites to send a representative if they are serious about peace talks, but ruled out the formation of a separate committee for negotiations. The Maoist statement, released in Telugu, highlighted the group's concerns regarding intensified counter-insurgency operations and alleged human rights violations. They appealed for a positive atmosphere for peace talks, calling for a halt to anti-Naxal operations and the establishment of new security camps.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah rejects the ceasefire offer from Maoists, stating that surrender is the only option. He also addresses Naxalism's ideological roots and progress in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
It said a "sudden rise" in terrorist-financing investigations was seen in 2023 and this was attributed to events arising out of incidents in Manipur that led to such probes in more than 50 cases.
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.
The noted screenwriter and lyricist said he finds many commonalities between the mindsets of the Taliban and the Hindu right-wing.
Assam government on Friday accused Left-wing extremists of engineering protests against big dams in the state and warned of appropriate action to tackle the design.
Terming the recent Maoist strike on a paramilitary camp in West Bengal as a 'cowardly' act, President Pratibha Patil on Monday made it clear that such 'senseless violence' would strengthen the government's resolve to tackle it with 'added vigour.'
Maoists have killed Abhay Kumar Yadav, one of the four kidnapped Bihar policemen, following a decision taken by the 'people's court' after the deadline given by the Left-wing extremists to the state government expired.Avinash, a self-proclaimed Maoist spokesman, has confirmed that Maoists killed Yadav, a sub-inspector in the state police. "We killed him and warned the state government to release our comrades till 10 am on Friday morning," he said.
Eight District Reserve Guards (DRG) jawans and a civilian driver were killed in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district when Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device targeting their vehicle. The incident occurred near Ambeli village while the security personnel were returning from an anti-Naxalite operation. This is the biggest Naxal attack on security forces in the region in the past two years.
"I am sure that the attempts to stall development and throttle democracy at gunpoint will not be successful ever," the home minister said at the meeting, being held two weeks after 25 paramilitary personnel were killed by a band of Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
UEFA opened an investigation into a "wolf salute" goal celebration by Turkey centre back Merih Demiral which Germany condemned as racist due to its far right associations.
Narivetta takes its cue from real-life incidents and fictionalises the ordeal through the experiences of a young cop caught in the crossfire between the police and tribals up in arms, notes Arjun Menon.
In the deadliest attack on security forces, Maoists trapped and gunned down 76 security personnel during Operation Green Hunt, an offensive against the Left-wing extremists, on Tuesday morning in the thick forests of Mukrana in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.
In the deadliest attack on security forces, Maoists trapped and gunned down 76 security personnel during Operation Green Hunt, an offensive against the Left-wing extremists, on Tuesday morning in the thick forests of Mukrana in Dantewada district of Chattisgarh.
The interim budget 2024-25 on Thursday allocated Rs 202868.70 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with the highest share of funds going to the paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Secular Force (CISF), showing priority on internal security and border guarding.
Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir visited Balochistan on Saturday amid clashes in the restive province in which 18 security personnel and 23 terrorists have been killed in the last 24 hours. The army chief was given a comprehensive brief on the prevailing security situation in the province and offered prayers at the funeral of the slain soldiers. He also visited the injured soldiers in the Combined Military Hospital Quetta. The military said the terrorists were killed in different areas of troubled Balochistan in the last 24 hours. Terror attacks have increased since the banned militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government.
The power of the left-wing extremist groups is immense and they can, in one sense, if they want to, bring many sectors of the Indian economy to its knees, warns former home secretary GK Pillai
Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
Holding that the revised draft order on NCTC suffers from several "serious flaws" and "arbitrary" provisions, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked the Centre to seek Parliament's nod through a wider debate for creating the federal anti-terror agency.
We present verbatim the full speech given by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while addressing the chief minister's conference on internal security at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
Ruling out any dialogue with naxalites, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said that fight against Left wing extremists will be intensified in the coming days.
The audacious strike on top Congress leaders by a Naxal battalion in Chhattisgarh on Saturday has proved that the left-wing extremists have no intention of pausing their armed struggle against the government. An official of the Central Reserve Police Force, the paramilitary force which has been deployed across Naxalism-hit areas, explained the situation on the ground to Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa.
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.
The Centreal Reserve Police Force operations, will have to acquire an intelligence-based strategy to combat Maoists who have organised themselves as a "regular fighting army", Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday.
With protests intensifying over the demand for Telangana, the Centre on Monday said there was no forward movement on the issue. "There is no forward movement," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters when asked about the central government's steps for resolution of the sensitive issue.
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.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday sought urgent consultations between the Centre and the states over issues like NCTC saying any delay in this regard would affect handling of law and order problems.
Bowing to Maoists' demands, for securing the release of a Biju Janata Dal MLA and an Italian from the captivity of ultra-Left activists' captivity, Odisha government on Wednesday said it would facilitate the release of 27 persons, including 8 Naxals, from jails.
Maoists on Monday night named three negotiators to talk to the Odisha government on the Italian hostage crisis even as they set a fresh 24-hour deadline for acceptance of 13 demands including withdrawal of cases against the ultras.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi called his counterpart S M Krishna who assured that the Odisha government was taking all steps to secure early release of two Italians kidnapped by Maoists in the state.
The reference to CRPP as a Maoist front organisation came in a written reply in Rajya Sabha by Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Home Affairs.
Abductions by Maoists in India have become quite a routine affair today. Union ministry of home affairs statistics indicate that in 2012 alone 88 persons have been abducted by the left wing extremists, and 11 have been killed.
The attacks by the Communist Party of India-Maoist, whether opportunistic or pre-planned, are part of their strategy of an 'armed liberation struggle' and in furtherance of their goal of 'seizure of political power through a protracted people's war', says Home Minister P Chidambaram.
In another sign of a rift between the Central Reserve Police Force and the Chhattisgarh police over the handling of Naxal problem, the central force's Special Director General Vijay Raman has slammed the state police chief Vishwaranjan for not "listening".
A Bharatiya Janata Party youth leader was allegedly abducted on Wednesday night by extremists of the breakaway Trititya Prastuti Committee.
Pon Radhakrishnan also stated that Naxals, Maoists and Muslim extremists may have intruded into some of the media houses too.
Differences between the Home and Defence ministries on the use of special forces of the Army and setting up of a unified command centre for anti-Naxal operations today came to the fore at the Cabinet Committee on Security meet on Thursday, which ended without any decision being taken.
As a total of 97 police gallantry medals were announced by the government on the eve of the Republic day on Wednesday, more than half (about 52) have gone to those personnel who are either combating Left-wing extremists in various states or have taken on militants and insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast
To carry on their violent activities across 223 districts in India, Maoists need a massive annual budget of Rs 200 crore to procure latest arms, perpetuate jungle warfare, continue propaganda and recruit new cadres. Ajit Kumar Singh and Sachin Bansidhar Diwan reveal how the Left-wing extremists gather their 'revenues' via a complicated network of extortion, threats and narcotic cultivation.
The government has alerted Naxal-affected states against possible Maoist attacks on railway networks, in the wake of Left-wing extremists targeting a Rajdhani Express train in Bihar, by blasting the rail tracks. The home ministry has issued the alert to West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, apprehending attacks by Naxals on trains and railway infrastructure, as any sabotage on the network can result in large-scale damages, official sources said.
