The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested an activist of the Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities from a village in Jhargram in connection with the Gyaneswari Express derailment, the police said on Tuesday.
'No one is saying that the police can become the solution, the police have to become the first respondent to create a situation where other people can enter,' says Chhattisgarh DGP Vishwa Ranjan.
Armed with sticks, they set ablaze thatched structures near a fishing yard in Belmajur area of Sandeshkhali, venting their fury against the elusive TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh and his brother Siraj. The torched structure, it was revealed, belonged to Siraj.
Two more Communist Party of India-Marxist cadres were found dead as pro-Naxal tribals, agitating against alleged police atrocities, on Monday torched three police camps and demolished house of a Marxist leader, virtually taking control of Lalgarh in West Midnapur district after forcing security forces to leave the area.
The People's Committee against Police Atrocities called for a 24-hour bandh on September 10 in Junglemahal area in protest against the arrest of secretary Manoj Mahato and the killing of one of its members in an encounter.
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti general secretary and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi has resorted to a fast unto death in Guwahati demanding halt in construction of mega dam projects on various rivers in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, including the mainstream of Brahmaputra river.
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a leader of Maoists-backed the People's Committee against Police Atrocities on Saturday for alleged involvement in derailment of Gyaneswari Express that left 148 people dead in West Midnapore district, the fourth arrest in the case.
The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities has claimed responsibility for the derailment of the express train in West Midnapore on Friday morning that left more than 100 dead and nearly 200 injured
Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress were stopped by police on Friday from visiting the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali, escalating the political tensions in the state as the leaders accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of fostering a 'lawless situation' and attempting to 'communalise' the issue.
'The people at Lalgarh die of starvation regularly, there is no health infrastructure, our children don't get proper education, the tribal languages are neglected and no steps are taken for the welfare of the Jangalmahal residents. If the PCAPA is given power, it can really do wonders,' says PCAPA convenor Chhatradhar Mahato.
The phone number given by Maoists to the media asking Union Home Minster P Chidambaram to call on Thursday for peace negotiations belongs to a police constable who was abducted by the rebels.The Vodafone number 9734695789 belongs to Sisir Kanti Nag, the constable who was abducted by the Maoists demanding the release of the Peoples' Committee against Police Atrocities leader Chatradhar Mahato.
Holding placards and banners that read "INDIA for Manipur" and "INDIA demands PM's statement on Manipur", the opposition parties raised slogans against the government in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex.
She also alleged that police has been forcing some people to name them in someway since May.
The First Information Report that was filed against the hijackers of the Rajdhani Express doesn't mention the role played by the Maoists or the armed wing of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, both of which claimed responsibility for the incident.The FIR filed by railway authorities in West Midnapore's Rajdhani hostage case is being seen as a move to shield the Maoists. The FIR was lodged with the Jhargram Government Railway Police.
Suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, seeking relief in a 1990 case related to alleged police atrocity, on Thursday told the Gujarat high court he was being "harassed" by the state government as he has made allegations against Chief Minister Narendra Modi regarding the 2002 riots.
Mishra was accused of sharing Pal's location from a Prayagraj court before the latter along with two policemen was shot dead on February 24.
The victim, Nilesh Dalsaniya, lodged a complaint, based on which Morbi city's 'A' division police on Thursday registered a first information report (FIR) against the woman, identified as Vibhuti Patel aka Raniba, and others including her brother Om Patel and manager Parikshit, said Pratipalsinh Zala, Deputy Superintendent of Police (SC/ST Cell).
In an effort to keep the land acquisition issue alive, the Congress on Monday announced that it will celebrate party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's birthday as farmers' rights day across the country.
Backing Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's allegations about police atrocities on Greater Noida villagers, the National Commission for Women on Saturday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe "as soon as possible" into the incidents.
A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan in Kolkata before 4 pm. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 pm, despite the Calcutta high court setting a deadline of 4.15 pm.
Tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who went underground after the anti-Maoist operation began in Lalgarh, on Wednesday dared the government to arrest him and said the administration was scared to do it. "I have not fled anywhere. I am at Lalgarh only and if the administration wants to arrest me, let them come and arrest me," Mahato, the chief of People's Committee against Police Atrocities, which is widely believed to have links with the Maoists, said over phone.
Top Maoist leader Kishenji has again become active in West Bengal's Jungle Mahal area, according to intelligence reports. "Kishenji was present in more than one meeting held in Lalgarh and adjacent areas in West Midnapore district in the last half of June, in all probability on June 22 and 23," said the reports. Joint operations in the area have come to a virtual standstill and six teams of the elite CoBRA force have moved to neighbouring Jharkhand.
After a video of the incident went viral on social media, the police arrested Sumit Chowdhary, Jaipal Singh Baghel and Prem Singh Parmar on Saturday.
A case under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered, the official said.
Suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt on Tuesday told the Gujarat high court that Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former Minister of State for Home Amit Shah had tried to pressurise him to destroy crucial evidence in the Haren Pandya murder case.
Sandeshkhali Block 2, the epicentre of the violent protests triggered by allegations of land encroachment and sexual misconduct involving local TMC leaders, has contributed the largest share of close to 1,000 complaints.
Shivamurthy Sharana, the pontiff of the Chitradurga Murugharajendra Bruhan Math who has been in custody since September last year facing charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was released from the jail on Thursday.
The Supreme Court judgement on disbanding of Salwa Judum will impact on the anti-Naxal operations, says the Centre which is planning to call a meeting of chief ministers of Orissa and Jharkhand after Chhattisgarh's action on a new law on the issue.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday set aside the promulgation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC at Sandeshkhali, which has been witnessing protests over the last one week.
"Not a single woman (from Sandeshkhali) has lodged any FIR. It was me who directed the police to lodge a suo motu case. Our block president has been arrested," she said.
Maoists have called the blockade to protest alleged police atrocities.
Bhalerao was passing by on Thursday evening when the accused were celebrating the wedding of a man from a so-called upper caste community and some of them were carrying swords, the police official said.
'We have to strive to bring these people into the democratic system,' says civil rights activist Sujato Bhadro.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has alleged that Maoists and organisations backed by them were mobilising people for the August 9 rally of the Trinamool Congress at Lalgarh in West Bengal, which would again lead to tension in the area.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday named three members of the Naxal-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities as the main accused in the Gyneshwari train derailment case. The investigative agency also announced a reward of Rs one lakh each for information leading to the arrest of the three accused -- Umakanto Mahato, Bapi Mahato and Asit Mahato.On May 28, the Mumbai-bound train had been derailed and then hit by a goods train near Jharkhand.
Maoists have called for a 24-hour shutdown on Saturday in the five states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh to protest the killing of their leader Lalmohan Tudu.
The Calcutta high court on Tuesday allowed Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari to visit the restive Sandeshkhali village, while observing that it is surprising that the main accused Shajahan Sheikh has not been arrested by the state police so far.
Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities leader Uma Kanta Mahto was killed in an encounter with joint security forces in West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Friday, said the police.Mahto was wanted in connection with the Gyaneshwari train disaster case that had claimed 148 lives on May 29 this year. The government had suspected that Maoists had planned the derailment of the passenger train.
Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel has again postponed his 'reverse Dandi March', scheduled for Sunday, to September 15, claiming that he has been invited by a Cabinet minister for a meeting with the state chief minister on the issue.
With firing having erupted in West Midnapore district on Tuesday, Maoist leader Kishenji demanded security forces stop it as a condition for the release of two abducted drivers of Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani.
