Besides disclosing in their affidavits, candidates have to prominently declare criminal cases they are facing, if any, thrice in newspapers in print as well on television, he said, adding that political parties too have to publish within three days of nomination why a candidate with criminal background was selected. "You (political parties) have to tell the public whether you did not get any (other) candidate and why was it necessary to select them (those with criminal background)," he said.
A change in Maoist strategy by targetting vital installations like high tension transmission lines has added to the woes of Bastar tribals, who were trapped in the hostilities between the ultras and the security forces.
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.
The anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region has been suspended in the wake of abduction of Sukma district collector Alex Paul Menon.
As the comparison between 2014 and 2019 shows, the voter turnout is not only lower than in 2019 but also lower than in 2014 in some of the larger states where polling took place.
Three battalions of the Border Security Force comprising more than 3,000 personnel will move across the border from Odisha to Chhattisgarh and an equal number of Indo-Tibetan Border Police units will further move into the Naxal stronghold of Abujhmad as part of a strategy to intensify anti-Maoist operations in their last bastions, official sources said.
Files related to the organisation of a public hearing for environment and forest clearance for Tata Steel's proposed 5-million-tonne integrated steel plant in Bastar are "missing". The district administration said it has not received the documents that were sent from the state capital a month ago.
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.
The saffron party had realised after the first phase of the elections that it was "on the backfoot," Pilot said.
After the lull in January and February when only a handful of movies hit the screens, it's going to be a rather crowded March in the theatres.
Jawan who killed 4 colleagues in Chhattisgarh suffered from emotional stress, said CRPF.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has expressed a desire to withdraw from all interior locations of the worst-hit Naxal area of Bastar in Chattisgarh, a move opposed by the state police. Official sources, who referred to this wish by CRPF, said the para-military force has also approached Chhattisgarh Police to provide security to its camps at Narayanpur where 27 security personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush recently.
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Three jawans of the Chhattisgarh police were killed and four others injured on Friday in an ambush set up by Naxals in Bastar district, a senior police official said in Raipur. Bastar Superintendent of Police Ratan Lal Dangi told PTI over the phone that the incident took place near Netanar village on Friday morning. The police team, from Darbha station, was heading for the village after receiving a report that Naxals had vandalised a guest house of the forest department.
Shaitaan has taken a superb opening and by the look of things, it will earn Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) comfortably.
According to latest statistics of the Home ministry, the seven forces -- the CRPF, the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Seema Sahastra Bal, the Central Industrial Security Forces, the National Security Guard and the Assam Rifles -- have lost 1,067 men in combat or counter-insurgency operations over a period of three years. But more than thrice -- as many as 3,611 personnel -- have died due to illnesses.
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Voting for 10 constituencies was held from 7 am to 3 pm in 10 seats and from 8 am to 5 pm in the rest 10 segments under a thick security blanket of police and paramilitary personnel in the Naxalite-hit Bastar division.
It's a single phase polling in Mizoram while first phase of assembly elections is underway in Chhattisgarh.
Banned outfit Communist Party of India-Maoist Tuesday claimed responsibility for the massacre of Congress leaders in Bastar region and demanded immediate suspension of all operations against it across the country.
'Rahul should have learnt so much in the last 20 years. But give him a mic and he begins to talk without thinking about its consequences.'
Of the 12 seats in Bastar, the Congress won eight. The BJP had secured 11 of these seats in 2008.
Of the ten police personnel who lost their lives in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, five had joined the force after quitting Maoist violence, a senior official said on Thursday.
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.
The total number of voters in the 20 constituencies are 40,78,681, comprising 19,93,937 male, 20,84,675 female and 69 third-gender persons, they pointed out.
Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh on Friday visited Bastar in Chhattisgarh to understand the implementation of rural development schemes in the area.
In the first phase covering 20 of the total 90 assembly seats, 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray and as per electoral rolls, 40,78,681 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
A divided house until recently, Congress is putting up a spirited campaign to checkmate BJP in its erstwhile stronghold of Naxal-dominated Bastar region of Chhattisgarh where the ruling party hopes to cash on its developmental agenda coupled with Chief Minister Raman Singh's clean image in the Assembly elections.
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.
"The voting percentage is likely to go upwards when reports from all polling stations are obtained as polling is scheduled till 6 pm in many constituencies. Final figures will be known on Saturday after the scrutiny of form 17A," the EC said.
In a multi-part series, Joginder Tuteja keeps you informed about the theatrical releases coming up in 2024.
In the wake of the horrific May 25 Bastar massacre which claimed the lives of 26 persons, authorities have now decided to target top Maoist leadership.
Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued to security forces deployed across Left Wing Extremism affected states after a 'serious and new' threat of possession and operation of drones by Maoist cadres came to light recently, officials said on Sunday.
The suspense over whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the polls from Amethi and Raebareli respectively continued.
Campaigning ended on Wednesday evening for 102 Lok Sabha seats across 21 states and Union territories which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19 with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) making a last-gasp effort to woo voters.
Tribal rights activist Soni Sori, who was attacked with an acid-like chemical in Chhattisgarh last month, has said that the condition of her face is reflective of the fight in Naxal-hit Bastar area.
Various alleged administrative and financial irregularities worth crores have been pointed out in execution of development works in worst Naxal-hit Bastar district of Chhattisgarh by state Accountant General.
Under threat from the Maoists, and jailed by the police, AAP's Soni Sori plunges into the election for all she holds dear. Aman Sethi reports
Modi also said the grand old party was being run not by its leaders but by some "behind the curtain" elements who are in nexus with anti-national forces.
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