With Maoists extending the deadline for Orissa government to meet their demands, efforts for the release of Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna and a junior engineer through negotiations gained pace on Saturday. As Krishna and junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Majhi spent the fourth day in captivity, the two mediators handpicked by Maoists are expected to arrive in Bhubaneswar shortly in order to speed up the process of negotiations.
The Orissa assembly witnessed pandemonium scenes for the second day on Friday over the abduction of Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna with the opposition and treasury bench members virtually clashing in the Speaker's podium. The uproar erupted as soon as the House assembled for the day for question hour.
The two-week-long search operation in the Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district of Orissa has been completed by the search teams from the Andhra Pradesh police and Indian Navy as all the 38 bodies of Greyhound commandos and police personnel were found.
Former Maoist insurgents have revealed a shocking practice within the CPI (Maoist) organization, where cadres are forced to undergo vasectomy before they are allowed to marry. This policy, designed to prevent distractions and ensure loyalty to the movement, has been implemented across the organization. The practice has been highlighted by several former insurgents who have now surrendered to the authorities.
Leaflets had also been distributed in several villages containing the threat: "Those ignoring this directive will not be forgiven."
Making an appeal for early release of abducted Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said the government was evaluating all options and monitoring the situation.
According to weather officials, wind speeds along and off the Odisha-West Bengal coasts are anticipated to reach 60 km/h from October 23, increasing to 120 km/h from October 24 night to October 25 morning.
Lakra, who will soon join a private airline as a co-pilot, has achieved this feat after years of hard work.
The Maoist attack near Dantewada in Chhattisgarh is the fifth major strike by Naxals in the country this year.
Abducted junior engineer Pabitra Majhi was freed on Wednesday by Maoists in Orissa after a seven day ordeal but release of Malkangiri district collector R V Krishna was clouded in uncertainty with the rebels setting a new condition for his release.
The Orissa high court on Wednesday granted bail to top Maoist leader Ganti Prasadam, whose release is among the conditions set by the Naxals for the safe return of abducted Malkangiri District Collector R V Krishna. The court granted him bail on a bond of Rs 20,000 with two sureties.
Five hardcore Maoists, whose release was sought for release of the abducted Malkangiri district collector and an engineer, on Monday moved the Orissa high court for bail after their plea for the same had been rejected by a lower court.
A court on Saturday rejected the bail plea of four senior Maoist leaders and their associates whose release was demanded by Naxal abductors of Malkangiri District Collector RV Krishna and a junior engineer. The plea for similar relief for another person, whose freedom was also demanded by Maoists, was posted for hearing on Monday.
"The boat has been traced deep inside the Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district," said deputy inspector general, South-Western range, Sanjeev Panda, adding that the body of two missing commandoes has been extracted from the waters.
Altogether 13 Maoist ultras including a woman were killed in an encounter with security forces inside a forest in Malkangiri district early on Saturday while another rebel was captured. The Maoist group that camped there was suspected to have been involved in the May 25 attack on a Congress convoy in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh that killed senior party leaders V C Shukla, Mahendra Karma and about 19 others.
Two tribals were killed by Maoists on suspicion of being police informers in Malkangiri, even as security forces launched an operation against the rebels at Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.
The Andhra Pradesh police has sounded a high alert on its border along with Orissa after the latest attack by the rebels of Communist Party of India - Maoists in Malkangiri district of Orissa, in which 21 policemen were reportedly killed. A senior police official in Hyderabad said that all the sensitive police stations in the tribal and forest areas adjoining Orissa have been put on high alert and asked to maintain a tight vigil.
Five more bodies were recovered from the Machkund (Balimela) reservoir by the search teams and airlifted to Visakhapatnam for post-mortem. Akun Sabharwal, the district superintendent of police, Visakhapatnam, told the media at Chitrakund that so far 15 bodies have been found and another 21 bodies are believed to be stuck in the sunken vessel.
Three Border Security Force jawans were killed and six were injured on Wednesday after a Maoist ambush on a BSF party near the Sukma-Malkangiri border in Chitrakonda, Odisha.
The victims included five policemen, among whom were officer-in-charge Sada Hantal and assistant sub-inspector Silamani Mallick of the Kalimela police station, sources said.
Around 150 cases involving that of murder, landmine blasts, abduction and attack on the police were pending against the couple in different police stations, police said.
Maoists shot dead two persons in Odisha's Malkangiri district suspecting them to be police informers even as a bandh was being observed by the ultras on Wednesday demanding withdrawal of security forces and halt to anti-naxal operations.
They live atop the Bonda hills in Odisha's Malkangiri district, segregated from the mainstream and have rarely stepped out of their environs. So an invitation to attend this year's Republic Day parade in the national capital was beyond their dreams.
Incessant showers caused landslides and floods in various parts of the country leaving at least 17 people dead on Wednesday while thousands more were forced to move to safety as rivers swelled and water reservoirs filled up fast.
In a major breakthrough, Odisha Police have arrested two suspected Maoists who were accused of being involved in the May 25 deadly attack on a Congress convoy in Chhattisgarh.
Three battalions of the Border Security Force comprising more than 3,000 personnel will move across the border from Odisha to Chhattisgarh and an equal number of Indo-Tibetan Border Police units will further move into the Naxal stronghold of Abujhmad as part of a strategy to intensify anti-Maoist operations in their last bastions, official sources said.
Against the backdrop of abduction of the collector of Maoist-hit Malkangiri, Home Minister P Chidambaram interacted with collectors of nearly 60 Naxal-affected districts and asked them to contact him if they face any problem in executing development plans.
Maoists have shot dead two persons, including a village panchayat ward member, two days after abducting them in Odisha's Malkangiri district, police said on Saturday.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded special category status for his state as well as other assistance from the Centre but remained evasive on allying with National Democratic Alliance.
As cyclone Hudhud weakened and moved to Chhattisgarh, Odisha government on Monday braced for relief and rehabilitation in the affected southern districts where its damaged houses and uprooted trees even as heavy rainfall was expected to lash these areas.
Police have detained web channel editor Sudhanshu Sekhar Raut and also seized computers and other material from the accused.
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.
A few hours after killing a man, Maoist ultras on Friday set a private bus on fire near Beheraguda in Odisha's Malkangiri district, police said.
2 senior commandos of Greyhounds were injured in the encounter that occurred during a routine combing operation.
'It is very likely to move nearly northwards for next few hour and recurve slowly north-northeastwards along Narsapur, Yanam, Kakinada, Tuni and Visakhapatnam coasts during noon to evening on Wednesday and emerge into west central Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh coasts by night,' the India Meteorological Department said in its national bulletin.
The latest trend issued by the State Election Commission showed the BJD had already won or was leading in 762 Zilla Parishad seats, as compared to BJP's 46 and Congress's 36 seats.
Cyclone Hudhud is set to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours before it makes landfall on October 12.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
Five hardcore Maoists, allegedly involved in a number of violent incidents, surrendered before security forces at two different places in Odisha's Malkangiri and Koraput districts on Tuesday.
As Cyclone Hudhud is closing in on the Andhra Pradesh coastline and is expected to make a landfall near Visakhapatnam by Sunday afternoon, about 1.11 lakh people in five coastal districts have been shifted to safer places.
