Abduction for the release of jailed Maoists is becoming a trend in Odisha. Considering the almost habitual surrender of various state governments to their demands, extremists will use this tactic regularly, says Bibhu Prasad Routray.
The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.
Sitaram Yechury strived to have the country's Left movement shed its doctrinaire approach to India's socio-cultural complexities and stitch electoral and social alliances to fight the Sangh Parivar.
The Congress on Thursday attacked the Communist Party of India-Marxist and termed as 'absurd' its statement that supporters of the Maoists were also in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Naxals are possibly receiving foreign funds but the chunk of their money comes from extortion of corporate houses and 'levy' imposed by them on mining, the government said on Wednesday.
In a relief to academic-activist Shoma Kanti Sen, arrested in June 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, the Supreme Court on Friday granted her bail while taking cognisance of the "composite effect" of the delay in framing charges coupled with her prolonged detention.
The Communist Party of India - Maoist, which had claimed responsibility for the May 25 attack that left many Chhattisgarh Congress leaders dead, on Thursday denied that the incident had any political link.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.
It is necessary to make incremental progress, state by state, rather than aiming for an illusory knock-out punch against the Maoists, write Dr Shanthie Mariet D'Souza and Dr Bibhu Prasad Routray.
He was reviled by critics in his party as a neo-liberal in disguise but till the end, he retained his belief in secularism and the humanity of Communism.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad on Wednesday announced the arrest of a key Naxalite cadre who was arrested two days ago from Thane.
Bullet ridden bodies of four members of the Communist Party of India - Marxist were found on the road in Maoist-affected West Midnapore district in West Bengal on Thursday. A note, believed to have been left behind by the Maoists near the bodies, said the men were accorded the 'extreme punishment' by 'people's verdict' as they had acted as police informers. The police said the three victims had been called out of their homes at approximately 1.30 am and had been gunned down.
The Maoists holding Italian Paolo Bosusco hostage on Wednesday welcomed 'certain' steps taken by the Odisha government to meet their demands while the fate of Biju Janata Dal MLA Jhina Hikaka held by another Naxal group was still unknown as the deadline set by both sides ended on Tuesday.
With the deadline set by two Maoist groups holding an Italian and a MLA hostage ending on Tuesday, one of the groups claimed that the Odisha government was unclear in meeting its demands.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Saturday Maharashtra's plea for a stay on the Bombay high court order acquitting G N Saibaba, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's persistent pitch that the acquittal was not on merit but for want of appropriate sanction to prosecute him under the anti-terror law UAPA.
119 of the absconders are from CPI-Maoist outfit, while the rest are members the private militia of upper caste landlords Ranvir Sena, the sources said.
The Bombay high court in its judgment granting bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has noted that there was no material on record to infer prima facie that he conspired to or committed any terrorist act.
With all the evasions, one assertion made by the Pune (Rural) police stood out: They had found no connection of the Elgar Parishad with the violent incidents of January 1, 2018. Yet, the case against the 'Bhima Koregaon 16', which is based on exactly this alleged connection, continues, and seven of the accused continue to be behind bars under the UAPA, explains Jyoti Punwani.
The rebels fired randomly at the policemen, killing five constables, a chowkidar and three civilians.
Two days after Naxals struck in a big way in Chhattisgarh, the government on Wednesday asserted that there will be no let up in operations to eliminate the Maoist menace and promised all support to the security forces to deal with it firmly.
Dominic Xavier is puzzled by the NIA's campaign against Leftist activists and intellectuals and wonders if we will ever get to know the truth behind all these arrests.
A lack of understanding on how to tackle the Maoist challenge is adversely affecting security operations on the ground and not the inefficiency or inability of the security forces to put pressure on the Maoists, says former Chhattisgarh top cop Vishwa Ranjan.
The Communist Party of India - Maoist on Thursday rubbished charges leveled by the Communist Party of India Marxist, that the Trinamool Congress was patronising Maoists, saying the Left Front party was trying to keep itself afloat by making such allegations. "There is no need for us to have the CPI-M or the Trinamool Congress as allies," Maoist leader Kishenji said while reacting to the CPI-M's allegations that the outfit was protected by the TC.
The Maoists have a track record of blowing up structures used by security forces during anti-insurgency operations, officials said.
Two Communist Party of India-Marxist workers were reportedly hacked to death by the Maoists in West Bengal's West Midnapore district on Wednesday night.
The prosecution, while opposing the bail applications, had argued that they have "corrborative evidence" against the accused to prove their involvement in Maoist activities, such as mobilising cadres, recruiting students from eminent institutes and sending them to the interior to become "professional revolutionaries", raise funds and procure weapons.
Opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist in West Bengal on Thursday said that the loss of one individual with the killing of top Maoist leader Kishenji would not greatly affect the ultras as they have the support of "anti-national" forces.
Jailed Naxal leader Kobad Ghandy, who was arrested for setting up a base of banned CPI-Maoist in the national capital, on Thursday sought bail from the Delhi high court on the ground that he has already been granted the relief by Andhra Pradesh high court in a case.
A Delhi court on Monday charged alleged top naxal leader Kobad Ghandy with being a member of a banned terror outfit and furthering its activities in violation of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Besides weakening the Maoists' lethal capacities and reducing violence, it is essential to ensure that governance is improved, so that those prone to sympathising with, or supporting, the Maoists would, in the long run, realise the needlessness and futility of doing so, says P V Ramana and Raj Bala Rana.
It noted that 68-year-old Ghandy was in custody for almost six years and six months during the pendency of case.
In a statement sent to select media houses on Wednesday, the CPI-Maoists have declared that they would "rise up as a collective fist to drive out MNCs" from the country. The statement also reiterates that their mission is to wipe away the "treacherous rotten regimes" at the Centre and the states.
Prima facie there was a nexus between human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, and Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's spy agency ISI convicted in the United States for terror funding, a special NIA court has said in its order denying bail to the campaigner.
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.
Twelve Maoists were on Tuesday gunned down in an encounter with the police in Palamau district in Jharkhand.
