The government has given "in-principle approval" for 10 per cent reservation in the Central Armed Police Forces like the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force for 'Agniveers' after their service in the military, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
The shutdown was called by Kuki-Zo groups, including the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), in protest against Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh's statement about militants entering the state from outside.
Ten Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Friday, a senior police official said. The gunfight broke out in the morning in a forest within the jurisdiction of the Bhejji police station when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation. The operation was launched based on inputs about the presence of Maoists belonging to Konta and Kistaram area committees of Naxalites on forested hills of Korajguda, Dantespuram, Nagaram and Bhandarpadar villages. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed security forces and said the era of peace and progress has returned to the Bastar region, which includes Sukma.
A total of 939 service medals, including 189 for gallantry, was announced by the Union government on Tuesday for personnel of various central and state police forces on the eve of Republic Day.
The youths, identified as Mohammed Harshad and Taufeeq Pathan, were moving about in a suspicious manner.
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has overturned the Karnataka government's suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was suspended following a fatal stampede at a stadium last month. The tribunal's decision could also lead to the reinstatement of other suspended officers.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reviewed the security situation in Manipur for the second consecutive day, directing officials to focus on restoring peace and order in the state. The situation has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children. Shah also ordered the deployment of 5,000 paramilitary troops to assist the state government in handling the situation.
The militants attacked an India Reserve Battalion camp at Naranseina in the Moirang police station area, they said.
With this incident, 154 Naxalites have been gunned down by the security forces in different encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year, the police said.
Security forces entered Lalgarh on Saturday to reclaim it from Maoist-backed tribals and were closing in on the police station there. The personnel of paramilitary forces and the state police were just two km away from the Lalgarh police station, which is under Maoist control.
At least 12 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) reached West Bengal on Saturday morning as the state prepares to go to elections, officials said.
Can change happen? Not unless the changemakers themselves want it since they benefit the most from the status quo, warns Biswajit Dasgupta.
'...than free Sonam Wangchuk.'
The 39-year-old officer was bestowed with the PPMG, the highest police gallantry award, for skillfully killing a terrorist holed up in a building in Kashmir on June 21, 2020, officials said.
The skirmish took place in the forest near Mangnar village under Barsur police station limits, he said.
The sanction to hand over the plot of about 50 acres in Indri village of Nuh to the Rapid Action Force came earlier this week.
'Look at the post mortem reports. Every body (of the 10 Kuki-Zo youth who were killed) has almost 12 bullet marks on it.' 'Why do they have to fire so much even if they wanted to kill them?' 'One or two shots would be enough to kill them. Why then they had to fire so many bullets on them?'
The officials said that in the present environment where two communities are attacking each other, they may not find even a lawyer to defend them as all courts were within Imphal valley.
Security forces have been diligently working to create buffer zones, such as the one established between Churachandpur and Bishnupur. However, this has proven insufficient to quell the unrest.
The Centre has rushed over 3,000 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force and Rapid Action Forces besides over 500 personnel of Special Reserve Police to deal with the situation, which was 'tense but under control.'
The Maoist blast took place around 3 pm near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of security forces, over 400 km from the state capital Raipur.
Terrorists opened fire at a popular tourist spot near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly holidayers from other states, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019.
The Chhattisgarh police, however, said the claim seemed to be an attempt to mislead the local population, and the security forces never compromise on the safety of the local people during their operations.
The situation in and around Lailapur, which was rocked by deadly violence, along the interstate border remained calm with a large number of Central Reserve Police Force troops patrolling the National Highway-306, they said.
The Gadchiroli district bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has been the hot-bed of Naxal activities in Maharashtra with the Maoist violence claiming 418 lives in the past three decades.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to deploy 125 companies of central forces in West Bengal by February 25 for the ensuing assembly elections, a senior official said on Friday.
In Nashik, around 200km from Mumbai, two groups clashed during a bandh called by the Sakal Hindu Samaj in protest against atrocities on minority community members in the neighbouring country, leading to tension in the Bhadrakali area, where police lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
A joint team of multiple forces are undertaking the offensive to target some senior and most-wanted Naxal commanders, official sources said.
At least 12 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) reached West Bengal on Saturday morning as the state prepares to go to elections, officials said.
The SoP includes general principles, according to which, police responses must prioritise life safety, protection of rights, prevention of property damage, and de-escalation of potential conflicts.
'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk called off his hunger strike as protests for Ladakh statehood and Sixth Schedule extension turned violent. The BJP office was set on fire, vehicles were torched, and clashes erupted, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders.
The reservation would include a 10 per cent horizontal quota for Agniveers in the posts of constable, mining guard, forest guard, jail warden, and special police officers.
Stones were hurled at a Ram Navami procession in Fatehpura area of Gujarat's Vadodara city on Thursday, police said.
The police have so far arrested 115 people in connection with the violence that erupted on May 13 night in the sensitive Old City area over a social media post and registered six cases at the Old City and Ramdas Peth police stations.
Altogether seven firearms have been recovered from the encounter site, he said.
A leading Kuki-Zo organisation in Manipur has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of 10 youths in a gunfight with the CRPF, raising questions about the paramilitary force's neutrality. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) also reiterated its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community in the state, where ethnic violence between Kuki tribals and Meiteis has claimed over 250 lives since May last year. The ITLF claimed the post-mortem reports showed the youths were shot from the back, suggesting they were not engaged in a gunfight when they were killed. The organisation further alleged that CRPF personnel stationed nearby refused to intervene during an attack on Zairawn village, where a woman was killed. The ITLF has called for a political solution to the ongoing conflict, urging the Union Home Minister to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
Originally hailing from Andhra Pradesh, the 67-year-old was involved in indoctrination and radicalization of youth and also responsible for numerous Maoist attacks in Chhattisgarh, resulting in the death of civilians and security personnel, they said.
The Delhi High Court has reserved its order on a plea by jailed MP Rashid Engineer, facing trial in a terror funding case, seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Engineer, a Baramulla MP, was opposed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) who argued that he has no vested right to attend Parliament and there were security concerns. The court said though there might not be a vested right to attend the session, it could exercise its discretion. The NIA also argued that Rashid misused the telephone facility in Tihar jail and that allowing him to attend the session would be a security risk.
