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.
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".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Bihar, where assembly elections are due this year, calling for 'an NDA government, once again', which would protect the state from the 'evil intentions' of the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress combine.
He has single-handedly planted over 100,000 trees and shared more than 40,000 saplings with others -- all at no cost.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.
The killing of CPI-Maoist general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the topmost leader by security forces in Chhattisgarh, is a major setback for the banned outfit. Basavaraju, who was on the most wanted list of the NIA, was among the 27 dreaded Naxals killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. The Telangana Police official said that the killing will be a demoralising factor for the Maoists. The official pointed out that the Maoists are already demoralised and hundreds of their cadres have surrendered before Telangana police besides many being arrested.
Suhas Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindu activist, was murdered by an unidentified group late on Thursday within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru city.
In a fresh offensive against Naxals, security forces killed at least 30 members of the banned CPI-Maoists in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Thursday, officials said.
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.
A commander of the banned CPI (Maoist) was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Palamu district. Another red rebel, carrying a bounty of Rs 15 lakh, was injured in the encounter. Several weapons, including a self-loading rifle, were recovered during the search operation following the gunfight.
He had promised his daughter that he would be there, come what may, a kin said. But fate had a different plan.
Vimala Chandra Sidam alias Tarakka, a top Naxal leader with a Rs 25 lakh reward on her head, surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Gadchiroli along with ten other senior Maoists. Tarakka, who joined the Naxal movement in 1986, rose through the ranks over 38 years to become a Dandkaranya Special Zonal Committee member. She is the wife of Central Committee Member Sonu alias Bhupati. The surrendered Naxals, eight women and three men, were collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 1.03 crore. Fadnavis also felicitated C 60 personnel for the July 17, 2024 encounter wherein 12 hardcore Maoists were killed in a forested area bordering Chhattisgarh.
Earlier on Monday, two women Naxalites were killed and one CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the same operation, they said.
'Many of them are mutilated beyond recognition. Every day an encounter takes place.' 'Bastar has been burnt to ash.'
Here is the timeline of major Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has declared that Chhattisgarh will be free from the menace of Naxalism by March 31, 2026. He stated that the Centre and the state government are committed to eradicating Naxalism, highlighting the significant achievements of the Chhattisgarh police in the last year. Shah also appealed to Naxalites to surrender and join the mainstream, emphasizing the government's rehabilitation policy. He further praised the Chhattisgarh police's efforts in curbing organized crime and narcotics.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) brass, including its Governor Sanjay Malhotra, on Tuesday told a Parliamentary panel that it was "optimistic" about the impact of the US tariffs on the Indian economy and, in long-run, it could benefit the country due to dipping trade relations between the US and China.
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.
The killing of Naxal leader Vikram Gowda by the Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) in Karnataka was a last-resort action during a "chance encounter," according to the state's Internal Security Division DGP Pronab Mohanty. He refuted claims of an ambush, stating that ANF personnel gave Gowda ample opportunity to surrender before firing. The encounter occurred during combing operations in the Udupi district. Gowda had multiple extortion and criminal cases registered against him. The ANF recovered a 9 mm calibre gun from his possession. Following the encounter, combing operations in the forest area have been intensified to apprehend other Naxal members. The DGP also highlighted Karnataka's special surrender policy introduced in 2024, offering a rehabilitation package for Naxalites willing to surrender. The ambulance carrying Gowda's mortal remains overturned near Hebri on Wednesday, but the journey continued after the vehicle was restored to its correct position. Gowda's last rites were conducted on Wednesday afternoon.
Hailing the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi assembly polls victory as 'historic', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a stinging attack on the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress, saying the country needs a serious political transformation and not politics of 'dhoort-ta (deceit) and moorkhta (foolishness)'.
Caste census politics took centre stage on Thursday with the Congress terming the government's decision as a 'diversionary tactic' and a move for headlines management and the Bharatiya Janata Party saying it has exposed the difference between the Centre's 'true intentions' and the 'empty sloganeering' of the opposition party.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, in a rare instance since the undivided Shiv Sena's fall out with the BJP in 2019, praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday for his efforts to turn Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district into a steel city.
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.
Many IEDs explode even when the troops are on foot and their trigger mechanism gets activated just due to the pressure of the feet. These incidents have injured more than 100 personnel over the last two years, the officer said.
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 government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'Leave aside the negative fallouts of phraseology like 'urban Naxals' and 'terrorists', both the BJP and the Congress have to re-discover themselves in the context of the 2024 election results, including those of the upcoming ones for Maharashtra and Jharkhand,' observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is trying to make inroads into BJP-ruled Gujarat where the assembly polls are due later this year.
The driver of a Scorpio that was right behind the vehicle targeted by Naxalites with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday said he won't be able to forget the day long as he lives.
'They just showed riots created by some political party. They never mentioned the name of the place or the political party.' 'I don't know why these people are agitated.'
'Defence, development and democracy is the formula to defeat Naxalism.'
A loud sound was heard at around 1 am outside Kalia's residence near Shastri Market in Jalandhar, police said, adding that no one was hurt in the incident.
The government on Monday announced service medals for 954 police personnel of various central and state forces on the eve of Independence Day.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been awarded the highest number of police gallantry medals, 21, including two Shaurya Chakras, on the eve of Republic Day. A total of 95 bravery medals were awarded to personnel from state and central police forces, fire service, home guard, civil defence, and correctional services. The CRPF's medals included 11 for operations in Jammu and Kashmir, seven for anti-Maoist operations, and one for an operation in the northeast. The second-highest number of medals went to Uttar Pradesh (17), followed by Jammu and Kashmir (15), Chhattisgarh (11), and the Border Security Force (5).
Women, children and other family members of the deceased were seen crying while women security personnel were trying to console them.
Combat units of the Chhattisgarh police's District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Bastar Fighters were mobilised from different directions in the area on February 7, the official said.
More than two decades after deserting their village due to Maoists, around 25 tribal families are planning to return to their native place in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
Chalapathi, a top leader of the CPI(Maoist) and a key figure in the 2008 Nayagarh armoury attack in Odisha, was killed in a gunfight with security forces at the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border. He was one of 14 Maoists killed in the encounter, which lasted for two days. Chalapathi, who had been a mystery to security agencies for decades, was eventually identified through a selfie with his wife, Aruna, found in an abandoned smartphone. He was considered an expert in military tactics and guerrilla warfare and had played a significant role in expanding the Maoist network in Odisha.
The accused, a contractor by profession, was absconding since the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar came to light on January 3, he said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances