The police said the Bastar region, including the Bijapur district where the attack took place in the wee hours yesterday, was peaceful and no incident of Naxal violence was reported from any parts of the region on Saturday.
A special court at Dantewada in Chhattisgarh has acquitted tribal activist Soni Sori and three others in a case lodged against them in 2011 for alleged transfer of 'protection money' to Naxals.
"With the death of RK, the outlawed CPI (Maoist) has lost its three central committee members and as many other senior cadres in the last two years. These deaths would certainly deplete the strength of the Naxal movement which has been losing its ground. Security forces would make an all-out attempt to soon bring an end to the five-decade-long mindless violence by ultras in the region," Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday promised free education in government schools and colleges in Chhattisgarh and Rs 4,000 a year for 'tendu' leaves collectors if his party retains power in the state.
Gearing up for a strong offensive against left wing extremism, Chhattisgarh police have claimed to have intensified the process of setting-up 'fortified police stations' in Bastar region in order to strengthen security apparatus in the Naxal-hit area.
The two tribal dominated divisions of Surguja and Bastar having 26 assembly seats that contributed hugely to the Congress' landslide victory in Chhattisgarh in 2018 have swung to the Bharatiya Janata Party this time.
The local intelligence wing had suggested not to carry out large anti-Naxal operations in south Bastar forests, where the ultras recently killed 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, citing geographical complications and strong Maoist 'Jantana Sarkar' network, a senior police official said.
Seeking to make inroads in Chhattisgarh, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced 10 'guarantees' for the upcoming assembly polls in the Congress-ruled state including free electricity, monthly 'samman rashi' for women and Rs 3,000 monthly allowance for the unemployed.
The fight against ultras will be intensified to end the Naxal menace, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday as he took stock of the situation in the aftermath of the killing 22 security personnel in an attack by the rebels in Chhattisgarh.
Ten persons, including two Central Reserve Police Force personnel and four special police officers, were killed on Wednesday in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said.The incident took place at Sirguda village in Bastar region under Injram police station area, when Naxals blew up a tractor carrying the special police officers and jawans. The blast occurred when a joint patrol team was returning from their duty.
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.
A huge haul of explosives, including 15 Improvised Explosive Devices and three pressure bombs, were on Thursday recovered by security forces from separate places averting a massive strike in the Naxal-hit Bastar Parliamentary seat, where about 15 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in the initial hours of polling.
'Elections and audience interest in specific movies are often independent factors.'
The police party was on their way to Kanker district in Bastar region for a combing operation when they were attacked by the rebels, Bastar IG A N Upadhyaya said, adding that the injured security personnel were rushed to Raipur hospital by helicopter.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) R K Vij told UNI that four constables of the Naga Battalion, accompanied by two special police officers were returning after patrolling duty.
Among the killed were the CRPF Assistant Commandant Vikas Chandra and constable J N Chetia of 43 batallion of the central force.
Ramanna was instrumental in several killings and attacks on security forces, including the 2010 Tadmetla massacre that claimed the lives of 76 troopers. He was also involved in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley where 29 people, including some senior Congress leaders and policemen, were killed.
When the MPV carrying six personnel was around one km away from the camp, ultras triggered a powerful land mine blast, he said.
Acting Director General of the CRPF, Sudeep Lakhtakia said the ambush has "naturally called for the revision of standard operating procedures" in these areas.
The Naxals are planning to enforce "poll boycott" in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls by disrupting the election process in Maoist affected states.
With Naxals watching the highways, cash to Bastar banks comes via copter.
The Tata group has decided to set up a mega steel plant in the naxal infested Bastar region of Chhattisgarh with an investment of about Rs 5000 crore (Rs 50 billion).
Ruling out the role of the army in fighting Naxal violence in the state, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Monday admitted "security lapses" that led to the killing of key Congress leaders last weekend.
The encounter, which took place in the jungles of Silger, a "liberated" Maoist zone between the naxal hotbed of Jagargunda and Basaguda in Dantewada, was launched on Thursday night by the CRPF from three directions.
At the local level, resentment has risen over the rampant corruption in payment of money for tribal land, acquisition of arable land (half the land sought to be acquired for industry in Orissa, for instance, happens to be farmland) and lack of any support for resettlement of the displaced.
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.
Two Naxals including a woman were arrested in Raipur with arms and ammunition including nearly 300 live cartridges, the police said.
The families of policemen being held hostage by Maoists in Bhopalpatnam, near the Chhattisgarh- Andhra Pradesh border, have appealed for their release without delay. Maoists abducted the seven policemen last Sunday, including an assistant sub inspector, a special police officer and three constables. The bodies of three policemen were recovered a day later from a dense forest in Bijapur District of Bastar region. Four are still missing.
Would the Maoists lose the support of the middle-class and urban intelligentsia by continuing to use kidnapping as a propaganda tool? Dr P V Ramana analyses
The Chhattisgarh government had on Thursday told the Supreme Court that Baghel never met any high court judge.
Tourist destinations have also come under the scanner of Naxalites as rebels detonated a powerful blast at one of the enchanting sites near Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on Monday morning in a move aimed to unleash a reign of terror among visitors.
Polling in sensitive areas in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-dominated Bastar region, where the first phase of Assembly elections were held on Friday, was closed by 3 pm so that the Election Commission officials could wrap up and reach their respective district headquarters by Friday night.
"The Maoists blew up a cement-laden truck near Kapsi, about 250 km from the state capital, by triggering a landmine, killing three CSEB employees, including the truck's driver," a police source in Narayanpur told PTI.
Tribals in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh have never been worshippers of Lord Ram. But now, they greet the visitors with Jai Shri Ram, thanks to a well-executed campaign of the saffron brigade in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state. The Katoli relief camp in Dantewada district, housing tribals deserting their habitats following Naxal terror, stands witness to this rapid transformation among the tribals.
The STF, which will be similar to the 'Grey Hounds' of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, will be imparted advanced training in commando operations and jungle warfare to take on the Maoist rebels in the dense forests.
The naxalites claimed that the Rani Bodli incident was an answer to the Salwa Judum (peace campaign) and anti-naxal operation in Bastar region.
Since the number of well-trained policemen were only 24 and put before about 700 armed Naxals, it was nothing but a 'kind of butchering'.
The policemen were forced to come out from the shelter after it caught fire, and were subsequently killed in firing by the Naxalites.
He accused Naxalites of using tribal villagers as a shield.
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