Relatives of a Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) commando held hostage by Naxals after a recent gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway on Wednesday, demanding an assurance from the government for his safe release.
Security forces today arrested six armed Naxals at Kosekodi village in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district. Police officials said the arrest was the result of a joint operation by BSF, district police and Special Police Officers who had received information about the movement of Naxals in the area.
The killed cadres, identified as Vargese and Linga, were allegedly involved in the ambush in which Mandavi and his four security personnel were killed on April 9, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.
Chhattisgarh has witnessed rising incidence of such attacks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
1 jawan was injured in a gunbattle with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter.
A cache of explosives and weapons was also seized from the encounter site, he added.
Security forces say Naxals have amassed nearly Rs 1,500 crore through extortion, kidnapping, looting and the narcotics trade.
The encounter broke out early on Saturday between a BSF patrol and armed Naxal cadres near the Chhotebethiya-Pakhanjore jungle axis of the Maoist violence-hit district, officials said.
The security forces had received inputs about the presence of cadres belonging to company no. 5 of Maoists in Bhomra, Hurtarai and Michchebeda villages, he said.
Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said.
In a separate incident, a commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites went off in the district, police said.
The Naxals fled from the spot after a prolonged gunfight.
'There is need to invent another enemy.' 'If you can add Maoists to Muslims, the tukde-tukde thread will tie in nicely.' 'You might even have a 'nation in grave danger' story by the summer of 2019,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
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.
Among the three slain personnel, two belonged to the CoBRA's 201st battalion and one to the CRPF's 150th battalion, a senior police officer said.
Action should be taken against those arrested for alleged Naxal links if there was evidence, he said.
The operation was conducted between June 23 and 25, the police said.
They were identified as LOS commander Erra and woman cadre Podiyam Bhime, deputy commander of the same squad, Sharma said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.
In a major breakthrough, the Chhattisgarh police arrested six Naxals including an alleged deputy commander who were involved in blowing up a bus recently in which 32 people were killed.
A Naxal commander was killed and many ultras are feared injured in an encounter with a joint team of police and the Central Reserve Police Force in Bijapur forests of Chhattisgarh, the police said on Tuesday.
This is suspected to be a Naxal ambush for security forces. Maoists fired multiple rounds while attacking the vehicle-mounted team, the official said.
The majority of CoBRA teams, whose commandos are expected to have tough mental and physical attributes, are deployed in various Maoist violence affected states while a few are based in the northeastern states for undertaking counter-insurgency operations.
A top Naxal commander and aide of dreaded Maoist leader Kundan Pahan was on Wednesday killed by security forces in a pre-dawn encounter in the forests of Khunti district of Jharkhand.
Manhas went missing after the April 3 gunfight between Naxals and security personnel near Sukma-Bijapur border.
Security experts say there has been complacency in handling the Naxal issue since the number of attacks has gone down over the years. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Three Naxals were arrested on Tuesday and a cache of arms, ammunition and electronic gadgets seized after security forces busted a Maoist transit camp in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, the police said.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred 26 Shaurya Chakras (seven posthumous) to personnel of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces and state/Union Territory Police during a defence investiture ceremony.
'Just because we haven't reached out, the Naxalites have come and taken over these places. A vacuum cannot exist, someone comes and fills it up and they have done that.' Vijay Raman, Special Director General, Anti Naxal Task Force, in an exclusive interview.
Additional Director General (Naxal operations) Ram Niwas said that a police team of 145 troopers was on a search operation in the Chintalnaar area, when the Naxals struck.
Roads are of great importance to win the war against the rebels in Sukma
When the MPV carrying six personnel was around one km away from the camp, ultras triggered a powerful land mine blast, he said.
Three Naxals, including a woman, were killed in a police encounter in the jungles of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.
A maximum of 92,000 personnel of CAPFs are likely to be deployed in politically volatile West Bengal, where elections will be held in seven phases, followed by 63,500 personnel in militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir, where polling will be held in five phases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday vowed to thwart alleged attempts to rob Dalits and backward classes of reservations by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) which he accused of 'enslavement' and performing 'mujra' for Muslim vote bank.
The Naxal movement is today facing leadership issues, losing favour with the Tribals and is confused about its future agenda and course of action.
A couple of years ago when the Telangana movement was at its peak, there was much talk that its formation could lead to the rise of a Naxal movement. Many Telangana supporters dismissed this view, stating that this was just another ploy by the Union government to stall the formation of the state. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Eight wanted Naxals, three of them carrying rewards on their heads, were arrested from separate places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar region on Thursday, the police said.
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