They were identified as LOS commander Erra and woman cadre Podiyam Bhime, deputy commander of the same squad, Sharma said.
Home ministry officials, who visited Chhattisgarh after the massacre of 25 CRPF men by Naxals, have found that the majority of 45,000 paramilitary personnel undertaking the high-risk anti-Naxal operations in Bastar region have been posted there for over three years.
The incident took place in the morning under Jagargunda police station area when a team of the CRPF's 165th battalion was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a police official said.
'Belgian Malinois' dogs have been extensively used by central security forces and police units in anti-Naxal operations and counter-terrorist tasks.
Police earlier claimed the three "Naxalites" were killed on a forested hill between Bhomra-Hurtarai villages under Koyalibeda police station limits on Sunday morning in an encounter with security personnel during an anti-Naxal operation.
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.
A revised strategy to combat Maoist insurgents is being planned with the focus on precise intelligence, specialised training, modern equipment and faster mobility for the anti-Naxal forces.
Three security personnel suffered injuries in the fierce gun-battle and a large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the spot, the state police said.
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.
Six Naxalites, including "deputy commander" Punem Nagesh, his wife, and another female cadre, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, a police officer 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.
For the first time, anti-Naxal forces are to be deployed in Assam and Uttar Pradesh. According to senior Union home ministry officials, 65 underground members of the CPI (Maoist) were arrested in UP between 2005 and August 15 this year.
A special squad of the anti-Naxal force recently undertook an operation in the jungles of Narayanpur district during which a UAV was not only able to pick up "real-time imagery" of movement of Naxal cadres but also relayed the conversation among them.
The Chhattisgarh Police is planning to train a new batch of street dogs for anti-Naxal operations after the canines delivered good results by detecting over 350 Improvised Explosive Devices and landmines in the past two years.
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.
A search operation was underway on Sunday to trace 18 security personnel who went missing after a fierce gun-battle with Naxals in a forest along the border of Bijapur-Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh, police said.
16 weapons, including 315 bore and 12 bore guns, were recovered from the spot.
Bad weather and hostile terrain have hampered the evacuation operation in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district where armed rebels had on Saturday ambushed a team of Special Task Force killing seven personnel.
Two Maoists were on Tuesday caught while allegedly planting landmines underneath a road bridge at Revet village in Latehar district, police sources said.
In a major joint offensive, separate joint teams of security forces, comprising over 2,000 personnel, had launched an anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night.
In a joint operation led by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the police forces of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh recovered the explosives after they began a 'cordon and search' operation last evening in the jungles of Gwaldand, Maldogri and Jharikheri in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district.
The country's largest paramilitary force -- the Central Reserve Police Force -- is literally going to 'school' as the force has recently created six new institutions to hone the operational and intelligence gathering skills of its troops.
Major changes in the Central Reserve Police Force's operational strategies are underway following the recent setback against Naxals, especially in Dantewada where it lost over 75 personnel. The post of CRPF Inspector General of Police (Operations) is likely to be created in every state where the force is deployed for anti-Naxal operations, official sources said.
The security forces did not suffer any casualty in the encounter.
The Central Reserve Police Force is purchasing more than a dozen defence manufactured Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a number of mine protected troop carriers to aid and guide ground patrols of the force conducting anti-Naxal operations.
Four policemen were injured in an attack by Naxals, who first triggered a landmine blast and then opened fire at them in Sukma district in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh during their 'Bharat Bandh' on Wednesday, police said.
'The strategy of frontal organisations of the Maoists is to create unrest and ensure that such unrest leads to a law and order problem.' 'To cover such acts it was necessary to bring in a different definition of unlawful activities which is different from the definition of unlawful activities in the UAPA.'
The home ministry has tasked country's lead anti-Naxal operations force Central Reserve Police Force to take the responsibility with immediate effect after the proposal to this effect was cleared by the office of Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.
The inter-state anti-Naxal operation, along the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, has led to the unearthing of administrative and military units of the Naxals.The operation, which started on Tuesday evening, is a result of several months of planning, and is being lead by over 4,000 central forces including the Special Action Force of the Central Reserve Police Force, besides local police teams of the two states.
The PMG was announced by the Union home ministry on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, being celebrated on January 26 (Thursday).
As his father takes on the Naxals in Chhattisgarh, Sopan Khosla has scored his own victory.
The Centre has rushed 2,000 additional paramilitary force personnel to Chhattisgarh in the wake of the Naxal attack on Congress leaders that claimed 27 lives, including that of Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nand Kumar Patel.
The UAV was in operation in Chhattisgarh for quite sometime and results are excellent, he said adding now as part of a strategy, the UAV will be positioned over eastern Maharashtra.
'Today we know of many X, Y, and Z persons as urban Naxals but can we call these people as such?' 'No, we cannot because we don't have a legal framework for doing that.'
Amid controversy over the anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh, Home Minister P Chidambaram on said CRPF's role in the encounter was "transparent" and "upfront" but he was "deeply sorry" if any innocent person has been killed.
The Bihar government said it would further intensify anti-Naxal operations and rescue searches for the four abducted policemen, even as Maoists set an ultimatum to release their eight jailed cadres by Wednesday, failing which they would kill all the captives.
Security forces engaged in anti-Naxal operations in various states, including Chhattisgarh, have decided to get different variants of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ranging from small drones to long-range surveillance ones. Forces deployed in Maoist hotbeds of the country have recently begun to pick up ground conversation, movement and pictures with the help of these devices. Authorities say they are handy in cases where quick information is needed.
Urging Naxals to shun violence, Shah announced that the Chhattisgarh government would announce a "new look" surrender policy in 1-2 months.
Amid proposals for using helicopters for movement of paramilitary forces during anti-Naxal operations, the Indian Air Force has suggested to the government that its 15 choppers deputed for UN peacekeeping forces may be called back as it has constraints of resources.
Cousins of the special breed canines, which assisted the elite US Navy SEALs in sniffing out Osama bin Laden from his safe haven in Pakistan, will now help Indian security forces in 'find and fix' anti-Naxal operations in dense forests and difficult terrains.
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