The exercise will continue till 6 pm in all the polling stations except those in Maoist-affected areas of Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori districts where it ended at 3 pm, an official said.
Terror strikes in Delhi and Mumbai blotted the copy book of the internal security establishment which could otherwise boast of considerably lower levels of violence in the sensitive Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast during 2011.
2008 will go down in the annals of history for the lowest ever incidents of left wing violence in Andhra Pradesh as the state police and its elite wing Greyhounds managed to establish a clear upper hand over the armed rebels. State director general of police Shyamsundar Prasad Yadav in his year-end report said that there was a 30 percent decline in the extremist offences in the state over 2007.
Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal sought the help of Nepal-based Maoists for procuring arms and ammunition but it did not fructify as they quoted very high rates, the National Investigation Agency has said in its charge sheet filed in a Delhi court.
A quick look at the 66-year-old leader's political journey in the mid-1970s shows how injuries and physical assaults have shaped her political career over the years.
The Indian Air Force can fire in self-defence if its helicopters engaged on logistical missions in Maoist-infested areas are attacked, said a well placed source. The IAF has deployed its special Garuda helicopter force to counter attacks while operating in Naxal dominated areas even as the debate rages on the deployment of the armed forces in anti-Maoist operations.
The letters were reportedly recovered after the anti-Naxal operations in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, in which 39 Maoists were killed, in April.
Asking the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre to desist from appointing the tribals as SPOs and arming them for countering the Naxals in any manner directly or indirectly, the court said the appointment of tribal youths as SPOs is "unconstitutional". The bench said the eligibility criteria including the educational qualification and training of the tribals to combat Maoists goes against the provisions of statutes and the Constitution
An Indian was also among those killed.
Claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on a Congress convoy, Maoists on Tuesday said their main objective was to "punish" senior party leaders including Nand Kumar Patel and Mahendra Karma for their "anti-people" policies.
Moti Ram Awalam (30) was an active member of "PLGA Battalion No 1", considered the strongest military formation of the outlawed movement, headed by wanted Maoist "commander" Hidma, and was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, a police official said.
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Blasting the Communist Party of India-Marxist for allegedly joining hands with Maoists to kill her in their bid to return to power, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday also charged the Marxists for being hand-in-glove with Congress and BJP in plotting against her.
The explosion took place in a hilly area in Bacheli in Dantewada when the personnel were returning to their camp after purchasing groceries from market.
Heads rolled in the Chhattisgarh police administration on Tuesday with the government suspending Bastar Superintendent of Police Mayank Shrivasta and shunting out Bastar range Inspector General of Police Himanshu Gupta, in the wake of the Maoist attack on Congress leaders.
The State must stand as a solid tower of confidence to provide a guarantee of safety to its citizens and instill fear in the hearts of offenders. But where is that State, asks Tarun Vijay
In their counter-letter, the group of former IFS officers acknowledged that the remarks made at the Haridwar event should be condemned by all right thinking, before adding that when the import of these is "exaggerated out of all proportion and the rantings by fringe elements" are seen as representative of the sentiments prevailing in ruling circles, then the political leanings and moral integrity of the critics can be rightly questioned.
A police jawan was on Friday killed and another injured after Naxals ambushed a team of security personnel who were deployed on a helipad in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district.
This is the fourth IED blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh in the last 15 days.
Intelligence inputs suggest that there is a meticulously-woven Maoist network in the jungle zones of Kerala
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday night condemned the Naxal strike in Chhattisgarh in which 13 CRPF peronnel were killed and said words are not enough to deplore the "brutal" and "inhuman" attack by "anti-national elements."
"The villagers came first, and then the Naxalites, dressed in black. They were some 300 Naxalites, all wearing black," a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force said.
In yet another Naxal attack in the state, a Chhattisgarh Armed Force jawan was killed when the ultras opened fire at his camp in Maoist-infested Sukma district on Sunday, the police said.
While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress alleged that the killings were a fallout of the TMC's infighting, the ruling party pointed fingers at the grand old party of India.
'The time has come for all those believe in a democratic India to stand up and be counted and to make a choice.'
A policeman was killed and three others were injured when armed Maoist rebels attacked a police outpost at Bansjore in Jharkhand's Simdega district bordering Orissa.
Four security personnel were killed after a large number of armed Naxalites attacked a relief camp in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.
Two Naxals were also gunned down in these face-offs.
In a major Naxal attack, 27 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were on Tuesday shot dead and seven injured in an ambush in a remote area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
Officials said the incident occurred at about 3:00 am when a Maoist squad mounted sniper fire on a CRPF camp in the jungles of Rangareddy in Gangloor area of the district.
Shivaji Pawar made a startling revelation: Though the subject matter of his investigation was the January 1 violence, he had not examined any of the witnesses to that violence.
Three police personnel were killed and another injured when Naxals attacked a Doordarshan TV tower in Maoist-hit Bastar district of Chhattisgarh early on Sunday morning.
Armed men attacked a railway station and beat up employees, including the station master, in Orissa's Keonjhar district on Sunday night.
"The incident took place when a joint contingent of BSF and district force was on a combing operation in the jungles of Tadoki Police Station area of the district early Saturday morning," Kanker Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), CD Tondon told PTI over phone.
The government on Friday ruled out holding any talks with Naxalites but said a balanced approach will be adopted in close coordination with states to tackle the violence perpetrated by Maoists.
About 65.46 per cent electorate on Tuesday exercised their franchise in the second of the five-phase polling for the 20 Maoist-hit assembly constituencies as the day passed off peacefully.
Modi said the newly-sworn in government took four major decisions related to farmers' and traders welfare in the first meeting of the Union Cabinet.
Shocked over the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh, President Pranab Mukherjee said the nation will neither be overawed nor intimidated by such actions.
The driver of a Scorpio that was right behind the vehicle targeted by Naxalites with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday said he won't be able to forget the day long as he lives.
